Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusyo CO., LTD. (President / CEO: Shusaku Isono, Suzuken Group; hereinafter referred to as “Sanwa Kagaku”) today announced that it has signed an agreement to transfer the business of Fukushima Factory to Bushu Pharmaceuticals Ltd.（Tetsuichi Okada, CEO / Executive Chairman; hereinafter referred to as “Bushu Pharma”.) 1. Reason for transfer
Sanwa Kagaku completed construction of the Fukushima facility in 1985, and in line with its expanding functionality, renamed the facility to Fukushima Factory in 2001. The facility has served as a manufacturing plant for the company’s own solid agents and as one of its contract manufacturing plants.

While Sanwa Kagaku made efforts to reduce costs in response to changes in the industry environment, after careful consideration of the future direction of new drug development and the increasingly globalized industry environment, the company decided that it would be best to transfer the business to Bushu Pharma, which has obtained GMP certification in many countries around the world and features advanced technological capabilities and production operations.

Expanding from its two facility structure featuring Kawagoe Factory and Misato Factory, Bushu Pharma established Kazo Packaging Center in April 2021. The facility sits within the distribution center of Chuo Unyu Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Suzuken Co. and is used for inspection, labeling, and packaging. The addition of the Fukushima Factory will further expand the company’s production to a total of four facilities.

Bushu Pharma has determined that taking over Sanwa Kagaku’s factory, which is already capable of handling contracts from foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers and major Japanese pharmaceutical companies, is the best way for the company to ensure manufacturing capacity to meet rapidly growing demand while fulfilling its responsibility for quality and stable supply.  Sanwa Kagaku’s products currently produced at the new factory will continue to be produced at the facility through a manufacturing consignment agreement to Bushu Pharma.

Shusaku Isono, President / CEO of Sanwa Kagaku, said, ” We are confident that after this agreement, the two companies will be able to combine their know-how in a wide range of areas, including quality, manufacturing, and technology, leading to further business development. We are also committed to further strengthening the business partnership that Suzuken Group and Bushu Pharma have established to date.”

Tadao Takano, President / COO of Bushu Pharma, stated, “As a CDMO*, Bushu Pharma has agreed to this contract in order to meet the rapidly growing demand and to play an even greater role in the stable supply of pharmaceutical products. We are confident that the new factory will be able to further grow as one of Bushu Pharma’s important contract manufacturing sites for pharmaceutical products. By welcoming the new factory, Bushu Pharma will further enhance its high-quality manufacturing and stable supply system, and will contribute to the development of the global healthcare industry and human health by delivering safe and reliable pharmaceutical products. 2. Outline of the plant to be transferred
Name: Fukushima Factory
Location: 1 Monden-machi Industrial Park, Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture
Site area: 110,000m2
Total floor area: 23,000m2
Number of employees: 133 (as of March 1, 2022)
Production Formulation: Tablets (regular tablets, film-coated tablets, core-crushed tablets), Oral jellies, granules
Production capacity: Tablets: approx. 1 billion tablets, Oral jellies: approx. 34 million cups 3. Outline of the company to which the business is transferred
(1) Name: Bushu Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
(2) Location: 1 Takeno, Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture
(3) Representative: Tetsuichi Okada, CEO / Executive Chairman
(4) Capital: 1 billion yen
(5) Net sales: 25.7 billion yen (FY2020)
(6) Business Description: Contract development & manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and investigational drugs
(7) Relationship between the parties: No personal or capital relationship 4. Schedule of business transfer
(1) March 30, 2022: Conclusion of business transfer agreement
(2) September 1, 2022: Business transferred to Bushu Pharma (planned) About Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd.
Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho is a subsidiary of Suzuken, one of Japan’s leading pharmaceutical wholesalers, and is headquartered in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture.　It is a pharmaceutical company that handles everything from research and development to sales of pharmaceuticals, providing ethical drugs and diagnostics mainly in the diabetes and renal fields. Sanwa Kagaku’s mission is to develop and deliver pharmaceuticals that contribute to improving the quality of life (QOL) of patients under the corporate philosophy “People-friendly medicines for people around the world”. About Bushu Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Japan:
Bushu Pharma was established in August 1998 as an independent pharmaceutical contract manufacturer. Bushu Pharma, capitalized at 1 billion yen, carries out pharmaceutical drug product contract manufacturing and packaging of clinical trials and commercial products in accordance with the latest cGMP standards. Through the utilization of know-how and the latest industry information, Bushu Pharma prides itself in being able to offer added-value solutions to customers. For more information, visit bushu-pharma.com/en/ and bushu-pharma.com/en/services/scm#a07.

※CDMO (Contract Development Manufacturing Organization): The company provides comprehensive services to pharmaceutical companies in the areas of manufacturing and development, including contract manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, manufacturing of investigational drugs in the development stage, and optimization of manufacturing conditions.

CONTACT:  Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd.
https://www.skk-net.com/en/inquiry/index.php Bushu Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Japan)
https://bushu-pharma.com/en/contact-us/