Knoll Buying Majority Stake In Hokuriku Seiyaku

In a move designed to give Germany's BASF Pharma a strong footing in the Japanese market, its subsidiary Knoll AG plans to acquire a majority stake in the research-based Japanese drugmaker Hokuriku Seiyaku. Ahead of this formal announcement, a BASF spokesperson had told the Marketletter that a Japanese buy was imminent (Marketletter March 18).

Knoll notes that its offer is the first for a majority holding in a research-based Japanese drug company since the early 1980s, adding that the alliance with Hokuriku Seiyaku will give it "a good vantage point from which to take on an appropriate role in the Japanese pharmaceutical market." Most leading multinational drugmakers have been eyeing Japan for acquisitions for a long time, but no deals have actually been consummated.

Hokuriku Seiyaku, founded in 1920 to produce generic drugs, now specializes in the therapeutic areas of antibiotics, peripheral nervous system, respiratory diseases and central nervous system products, bringing R&D to the table in the early 1970s. Sales reached 15.8 billion yen ($149 million) in 1995, with ethical drugs from the company's own research pipeline accounting for 70% of turnover. Two new products were launched in the past six months, and several others are under development.