EU pharma seeks more open Japanese market

Japan needs to acknowledge its international role as a leadingknowledge-based economy and, as such, promote a more open and challenging international market that rewards innovation, according to Jean-Francois Dehecq, president of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, and chief executive of Sanofi-Synthelabo.

Speaking in Tokyo while on a European drug industry delegation visit, Mr Dehecq said that Japan's overall health care costs have been rising about 8% a year but that its spending on medicines has been cut regularly, and last year this stood at the same level as it was in 1993. 2002's health care reform needs to create a new pricing system which supports R&D, with real premiums for innovative products, he said.

The delegation welcomed Japan's efforts to bring its drug regulatory environment into line with international norms and its commitment to accept more global clinical trials, but stressed that now is a crucial moment for Japan's economy and for the drug sector, as one of its key assets. The outcome of the reforms will determine the drugsector's future, its growth and development, its capacity to attract new R&D investment and, thus, its ability to contribute actively and positively to Japan's economic growth.