CPhI Japan confirms the country continues to top global ‘API quality’ rankings, with Japanese respondents bullish on growth in 2022 forecasting a CAGR of 14% on average. The country, despite the global challenges of the last year, also increased its ‘overall competitiveness’ score by 2%, while ranking narrowly behind only Germany and the USA for the quality of its ‘finished product manufacturing’ (8.28) and ‘innovativeness for solid dose’ (7.39).

“Interest from international audiences about how to enter Japan and find regional suppliers and manufacturers remains extremely strong. Demand for generics in particular, continues to grow, with companies looking for stable supply chains and alternative suppliers, which is why international interest in networking is so strong,” commented Laura Murina, Brand Manager, Informa Markets.

Emphasizing the increasing demand and outsourcing challenges ahead, Japan has a number of Covid vaccines approaching commercial launch at the same time as an ongoing biosimilars boom. Consequently, competition for partners and supply chain resources is increasing quickly, and more than 60% of Japanese companies state their potential partners are ‘approaching them much earlier than before’ according to the CPhI data. Murina, added, “what we have seen globally, and has been even more true in Japan, is that companies are looking at diversifying their supply chains and increasing resilience – naturally this means meeting and pre-auditing new partners. It’s why our online platforms have proved so popular in markets like Japan where it's vital international attendees make new contacts and start building networks,”

Further accentuating the move to digital pharma partnering, 100% of Japanese respondents to the CPhI survey stated they expected ‘remote facilities monitoring to become the standard approach’ over the next 2-3 years.

CPhI Japan will also host a conference with 200+ sessions including online English language seminars exploring ‘API trend outlook 2022’ headlined by Aurelio Arias, Engagement Manager, IQVIA and ‘Measuring the Covid-19 effect on clinical trials’ presented by Daniel Chancellor, Thought Leadership and Consulting Director, Pharma Intelligence, Informa. Keynote Sessions feature ‘Covid-19s impact on R&D for 2022’ presented by Ian Haydock, Editor-in-Chief, APAC, Pharma Intelligence, Informa plc and ‘Environmental sustainability in pharma’ from Alan Thomas, Director, Thought Leadership, IQVIA Japan Group.