Eisai joins trend to enter Russian pharma market, with Halaven launch

26 March 2013. Japanese drug major Eisai (TYO; 4523, through its EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) unit, has announced it is expanding its operations by establishing a new sales and marketing operation in Russia, a market that has seen a great deal attention from multinational pharmaceutical companies in recent times.

 

Eisai’s market entry will be based on launching its in-house developed innovative breast cancer treatment, Halaven (eribulin), which is expected to be during the second quarter 2013. Following this, Eisai expects to launch its epilepsy portfolio including: Zonegran (zonisamide) – the first of its drugs to gain approval in Russia (The Pharma Letter June 28, 2012), Exalief (eslicarbazepine acetate), and will seek regulatory approval of Fycompa (perampanel) and Inovelon (rufinamide). 

Russian market expected to reach $60 billion by 2020 

The Russian health care market is large and one of the fastest growing in the world. The pharmaceutical industry has seen significant expansion over the last few years and it holds strong potential for double-digit growth in the next six years. The value of goods and services on the Russian pharmaceutical market is expected to reach $22.1 billion by 2016. Analysts estimate that, by 2020, the Russian pharmaceutical market is expected to reach a value of $60 billion, with annual growth rates of at least 15%. 

Commenting on the planned market entry, Gary Hendler, Eisai president and chief executive, Russia and EMEA, said: “Eisai’s entry into Russia is fully aligned with the company’s wider strategy of establishing a solid foundation in the EMEA region. We currently have a number of products in the final stages of approval and hope to launch four to five products within a year of market entry. This will allow Russian patients’ to have access to innovative treatments not previously available to them and further supports Eisai’s human health care (hhc) mission to satisfy unmet medical needs and contribute to the health and well-being of people worldwide.” 

As part of the company’s globalization strategy set out in its mid-term strategic plan in 2011 “HAYABUSA,” Eisai seeks to expand its global presence by 2015 in an effort to achieve its objective of having a presence in the top 20 pharmaceutical market regions and making contributions to more than 500 million patients worldwide.