Japan stock market week to March 30, 2009

Tokyo remained virtually flat after the two-week winning streak in the reporting period ended March 30 following see-saw movements. The Nikkei  225 edged up 0.3%, maintaining the 8,200 level, while the Topix index  was down 0.3%. Due to the recent rally, some players moved to take  profits on strong performers, including banks and export-oriented  issues, with public pension funds reportedly one of major buyers prior  to their fiscal year closing. Meanwhile, there was a cautious  observation that the market was somewhat overheated. Sentiment improved  on news that the US Treasury Department had released details of a  program to remove massive bad assets. The pharmaceutical index gained  1.2%, outperforming the market.

Mitsubishi Tanabe, however, plummeted 13.1% because the company withdrew  the marketing authorization for Medway, a recombinant human serum  albumin preparation, and voluntarily recalled the product due to data  falsification involved in part of its approval application (Marketletter  March 30). Medway was jointly developed with its subsidiary Bipha and  launched in May 2008. The move followed Bipha's disclosure to Mitsubishi  Tanabe at the end of 2008 that it had intentionally exchanged certain  authentic test data with irrelevant research for the application of  partial modification approval to obtain extension of Medway's shelf  life.

Takeda lost 0.6%, despite holding a meeting, dubbed "Millennium Day," in  which the firm and its USA-based oncology subsidiary, Millennium,  addressed the current status of their R&D activities. The driving force  in the intermediate term is expected to be Velcade (bortezomib) for the  treatment of multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma. Global turnover  of Velcade expanded 44% to over $1.0 billion in 2008 and favorable  growth is expected with further broadening of the drug's indications.  Millennium has a solid oncology R&D pipeline, including: MLN8237, an  aurora A kinase inhibitor anticancer drug; MLN4924 for solid and  hematological tumors; and MLN9708, the successor of Velcade.