Japan's generic drugs market expected to grow 8.8% from 2006 to 2008

The Japanese market for generic drugs will see an 8.8% increase from an estimated 230.5 billion yen ($1.96 billion) in 2006 to 250.8 billion yen in 2008, according to a report, titled Data-book on Generic Drugs 2006, compiled by Fuji Keizai, a Tokyo, Japan-based market research company.

The generic drug market has steadily expanded to about 220.0 billion yen in 2005, thanks to the launches of generic versions of Mevalotin (pravastatin sodium), Alesion (epinastatin HCl) and Itrizole (itraconazole) against the backdrop of the government's promotion policy on generic drugs, the report said.

In 2005, the largest therapeutic category for generic drugs was cardiovascular, followed by antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents, and antibiotics. The market for cardiovascular medicines is also expected to be the biggest in 2008.