Sanofi-aventis and Nichi-Iko to Establish New Joint Venture for Generics in Japan
Sanofi-aventis and Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced that they have signed an agreement to establish a new joint venture, called sanofi-aventis Nichi-Iko K.K., in order to develop a generic business in Japan.
The new joint venture will be held at 51% by sanofi-aventis K.K. and at 49% by Nichi-Iko. In addition, sanofi-aventis will acquire 1,524,500 shares of Nichi-Iko, to be issued through a third-party allocation, and as a result will hold 4.66% of Nichi-Iko.
“We are extremely pleased to establish this joint venture with Nichi-Iko, that will allow us to strengthen our leadership and develop a strong presence in the fast-growing generic market in Japan,” said Olivier Charmeil, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific & Japan, sanofi-aventis. “Our objective is to provide the Japanese generic market, which is expected to further expand in the future, with high quality and affordable pharmaceuticals, supporting the government's stated objective of increasing generic penetration. This strategic agreement between Nichi-Iko and sanofi-aventis will leverage both companies' respective strengths to meet the needs of medical institutions and patients.”
“We are equally gratified to form this long-term partnership which will enable us to combine Nichi-Iko’s expertise in generic business in Japan and sanofi-aventis’ resources,” said Yuiichi Tamura, Nichi-Iko President and Chief Executive Officer. “This announcement will deliver a strong message of a new strategic alliance in the market, showing clearly our willingness to further expand the generic market in Japan.”
Both companies continue to explore additional opportunities for the development of the joint venture in the generic market in Japan by combining Nichi-Iko’s expertise in manufacturing, development, and distribution of generics in Japan and sanofi-aventis’ resources and global portfolio of generics.
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