Otsuka Australia Pharmaceutical Pty Ltd Opens in Australia

• Otsuka Pharmaceutical opens its first office in Australia, furthering the company’s aim of bringing innovative new treatments to patients in Oceania.
• Otsuka intends a long-term commitment in Australia, where an ageing population will have increasing treatment needs in areas such as mental health and chronic illnesses.
• Otsuka Australia Pharmaceutical Pty Ltd is Otsuka’s 27^th business affiliate outside Japan.

TOKYO & SYDNEY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, a leading health-related company based in Japan, has established a direct presence in Australia. A new office has been opened in Sydney to bring innovative new medicines to patients in Australia and as a foundation on which to build a larger, long-term presence in Australia and elsewhere in Oceania.

Otsuka is committed to the development of innovative new drugs for central nervous system disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and Alzheimer’s disease, areas where patients in Australia and elsewhere await better treatments. There are an estimated 285,000 people in Australia with schizophrenia, one million with depression and 298,000 with dementia, a significant number of whom have dementia of the Alzheimer’s type.^i,ii,iii

The Australian drug market has experienced single-digit percentage growth in the past several years and was estimated at approximately $13 billion (JPY 1.1 trillion or USD 13.6 billion) in 2012, placing it 12^th in size in the world.

Otsuka Australia Pharmaceutical’s recently appointed managing director Kazushi Takemoto commented: “Otsuka is pleased and honoured to be a participant in the Australian healthcare sector. We will strive to make a positive contribution with our products in areas of critical, unmet patient need. Our opening in Australia, which is Otsuka’s 27^th affiliate outside Japan, is an important milestone for Otsuka as the company continues to expand and fulfil its aim to help ease the burden of diseases on people around the globe.”

About Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd

Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a global healthcare company with the corporate philosophy: 'Otsuka-people creating new products for better health worldwide.' Otsuka researches, develops, manufactures and markets innovative and original products, with a focus on pharmaceutical products for the treatment of diseases and nutraceutical products for the maintenance of everyday health.

In pharmaceuticals, Otsuka is a leading firm in the challenging area of mental health and also has research programs for several under-addressed diseases including tuberculosis, a significant global public health issue. These commitments illustrate more powerfully than words how Otsuka is a “big venture” company at heart, applying a youthful spirit of creativity in everything it does.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical is a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Holdings Co. Ltd, Japan’s second-largest drug company. The Otsuka Group employs approximately 42,000 people globally and its products are available in more than 80 countries worldwide.

For more information about Otsuka visit: https://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/
For two short and informative videos about Otsuka, click here: http://www.otsuka.co.jp/en/company/history/

^i	Fact Sheet on schizophrenia.com. Available at: http://schizophrenia.com/szfacts.htm Accessed on January 13, 2015.
^ii	White Cloud Foundation. Available at: http://www.whitecloudfoundation.org/depression-facts Accessed on January 13, 2015.
^iii	Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Dementia in Australia. Press release containing findings available at: http://www.aihw.gov.au/media-release-detail/?id=10737423026 Accessed on January 13, 2015.