Expanding the European Business and Accelerating Growth Making a Positive Contribution As a Specialized Ophthalmic Pharmaceutical Company
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Feature Expanding the European Business and Accelerating Growth Making a Positive Contribution as a Specialized Ophthalmic Pharmaceutical Company Under the basic policies of the Fiscal 2014-2017 Medium-Term Management Plan, Santen has embraced the goals of achieving growth in the European business and improving profitability to realize its long-term strategic vision toward 2020. Guided by these goals, Santen continues to tackle bold challenges. 16 Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Annual Report 2015 European Business: Results and Strategies By harnessing strengths in specialized fields such as glaucoma and dry eye, Santen will make a lasting contribution to ophthalmic treatment. Strengthening Our Presence in the European Market as a Specialized Ophthalmic Pharmaceutical Company Santen intends to enhance its profitability by accelerating growth in the European business. This is positioned as a the treatment of severe keratitis in adult patients with dry eye crucial strategy for becoming a “Specialized Pharmaceutical disease, which has not improved despite treatment with tear Company with a Global Presence”—its long-term strategic substitutes. We will also further expand our regional sales vision toward 2020. To date, Santen has promoted business coverage with the ophthalmology products we took over activities around the growth driver Taflotan (tafluprost, sold from Merck & Co., Inc. Leveraging these initiatives, we as Tapros in Japan), a treatment of glaucoma and ocular intend to advance to our next stage of growth. hypertension, focusing on Northern and Eastern Europe, The European prescription ophthalmic pharmaceutical Russia and Germany. After taking over the ophthalmology market is the world’s second largest market after that of the products from U.S.-based Merck & Co., Inc. in 2014, we U.S. Moreover, Europe’s drug approval and quality have significantly expanded our presence in terms of product standards are recognized by various countries worldwide, portfolio as well as the countries and regions where we can including Asian nations. Going forward, we will maximize our develop business, along with strengthening our platform for strengths in specialized fields such as glaucoma and dry eye future growth in the European business. as we enhance our organizational management and In fiscal 2014, revenue in the European business increased business functions. By doing so, we intend to establish our by 23.5% year on year to ¥14.2 billion, with revenue growth business activities in Europe as a model of success for of around 80% projected for fiscal 2015. We launched Ikervis driving growth in the global market as a specialized (generic name: ciclosporin, development name: Cyclokat) for ophthalmic pharmaceutical company. Fiscal 2017 Revenue Target for the European Business Fiscal 2014 Revenue in14.2 the European Business 31.0 ¥ bn ¥ bn Shigeo Taniuchi Corporate Officer, Head of Santen Europe Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Annual Report 2015 17 Research and Development Santen has obtained approval for Ikervis, a drug aimed to satisfy the unmet medical needs of dry eye patients in Europe. Creating Products to this sense, Ikervis is a new drug that has been eagerly Satisfy Unmet Medical Needs awaited by patients in Europe. 1 with Unique Novasorb Technology Ikervis employs the Novasorb technology developed by Santen S.A.S. This technology enables applications in In March 2015, Santen received approval of the Marketing ophthalmic solutions containing drugs with poor solubility in Authorization Application (MAA) for Ikervis from the European water, and has potential benefits including expanded contact Commission. Ikervis was approved for treatment of severe surface, improved residence time and enhanced absorption keratitis in adult patients with dry eye disease, which has not of ciclosporin. improved despite treatment with tear substitutes. Since July Santen will work to increase market penetration of Ikervis 2015, Ikervis has been launched successively in European by taking full advantage of its expanded sales network after countries including Germany and the U.K., with the aim of taking over ophthalmology products from Merck & Co., Inc., maximizing product value. in tandem with harnessing its knowledge and expertise as a In Europe, ophthalmic solutions for the treatment of dry pioneer in the treatment of dry eye in Japan. eye were only available as over-the-counter medicines. 1. Novasorb is the technology that applies a positive electric charge to an ophthalmic Although some eye specialists use hospital compounded emulsion. formulations of ciclosporin or the like to treat severe keratitis in dry Supporting the Development of eye patients, a considerable Diagnostic Criteria of Dry Eye Specialists number of patients have had by Learning from Patient Feedback to visit multiple healthcare providers before they could In Europe, two crucial themes have emerged alongside the receive appropriate care. In need to develop drug treatments: (1) the formulation of Message Great Expectations for Santen in Development of Dry Eye Treatment in Europe For over 20 years, I have observed how symptoms accompanying dry eye disease affect the QOL of many of my patients. In Europe, the main treatment for dry eye disease has been tear substi- tutes. However, there has been no effective drug to treat the severe keratitis that accompanies dry eye. Many of these patients have suffered from this condition for years. Ikervis entering the market brings a treatment of the severe keratitis with dry eye, which has not improved despite treatment with tear substitutes. We have high expectations that Santen’s original Novasorb technology used in Ikervis will strengthen application to the surface of the eye as well as be effective in protecting and healing. Dry eye disease is caused by a variety of reasons, including Sjögren’s syndrome2 and meibomian Christophe Baudouin, M.D., Ph.D. gland dysfunction. Further, the illness mechanism differs from one disease to another. Going forward, we expect that Santen, as a specialty company in the field of ophthalmology, will develop Chairman of the Dept. of Ophthalmology Quinze-Vingts National Ophthalmology Hospital outstanding pharmaceutical products that satisfy unmet medical needs. Professor and Director of 2. An auto-immune disease characterized mainly by a general dryness, especially of the eyes and mouth. an INSERM-labelled Research Group Middle-aged and elderly women are particularly prone to this disease. Vision Institute, University of Paris 6 18 Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Annual Report 2015 Research and Development guidelines that promote the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of dry eye, and (2) the sharing of patient feedback and information about treatment conditions and other topics. Santen is taking many different initiatives to address these themes. One example is the project by dry eye specialists, where Santen indirectly supports activities designed to set common diagnostic criteria across various countries with different healthcare environments. Another example is the initiative to understand the actual situations faced by dry eye patients in Europe, contribute to the development of dry eye treatment, and provide such feedback to ophthalmologists. In these and other ways, Santen has implemented activities in collaboration with healthcare professionals. Notably, these activities have revealed that it can take a long time for many patients to receive the correct diagnosis. This indicates that dry eye is having a huge impact on the Quality of Life (QOL) of patients. Santen is also taking other steps to help improve patients’ QOL. For example, to ensure that ophthalmologists understand the actual views of patients and their needs, Santen is creating forums to stimulate dialogue between ophthalmologists and dry eye patients at ophthalmological society meetings. Santen is also financially supporting the launch of patient-group websites in Europe. We Are Overjoyed by the Development of a Much Awaited Medication Dry eyes can make our personal, social and professional lives very uncomfortable. Air-conditioning is everywhere—trains, planes, restaurants, offices, theaters, supermarkets—and unbearable for our eyes. Wind and draughts make our eyes red and burn. The pain can be constant, 24 hours a day. I am chairwoman of an association dedicated to supporting and helping patients with Sjögren’s syndrome and other ailments causing dry eye to better understand these diseases and to overpass worsening external factors. We have been waiting for years to have access to a pharmaceutical ocular ciclosporin for severe dry eye treatment. We hope Ikervis will be accessible at the pharmacy next door and not only at a hospital far from home. And even more importantly, we expect it will decrease the frequency and intensity of keratitis and related pain. We thank Catherine Faou Santen for its dedication to ophthalmology and count on it to continue exploring Sjögren’s syndrome in order to increase societal awareness and develop new products to improve our QOL President, AFGS – Association Française du Gougerot Sjögren et des and QOV (Quality of Vision). Syndromes Secs Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Annual Report 2015 19 Sales and Marketing Santen will strive to further enhance its presence across the entire European market, primarily in the glaucoma and dry eye fields. Accelerating Market Penetration of Existing Products Such as the Growth Driver Taflotan Santen has positioned as its growth driver in the European business the glaucoma and ocular