Business in Japan versus to Japan, by P Reed Maurer

A pharmaceutical company without a presence in Japan but with a hot new product ready for Phase III clinical trials, and several compounds in preclinical testing has two options vis a vis the Japan market:

1 License the product out to a Japanese company, or
2 Take actions to own the marketing authorization (MA) in Japan.

In the short term the first option makes money, the second option costs money, says P Reed Maurer, long-time observer of the Japanese pharmaceutical scene and president of International Alliances Limited. Over a longer term selecting the first option prevents the company from doing business in Japan, thus forfeiting the second largest single pharma market to a customer that may end up to be a competitor. Short term gain leads to long term pain.