CPhI Japan, ICSE Japan, P-MEC Japan, BioPh Japan, and Pharmatec Japan Exhibitions Open Doors to Japan's US$90 Billion Pharmaceutical Market

TOKYO, April 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Japan's most international annual event for the pharmaceutical industry opened today at the Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Center. Since the launch of CPhI Japan in 2002, the exhibition and conference focused on pharmaceutical ingredients has grown in size and also in scope with the launch of parallel events such as ICSE Japan for outsourcing solutions, P-MEC Japan for pharmaceutical machinery and technology, BioPh Japan for the biotechnology sector, and Pharmatec Japan covering drug packaging and drug delivery technology. In the 11 years since its launch it has become a comprehensive and integrated drug design event for Japan's pharmaceutical industry. The co-located events are open to trade visitors on 24-26 April 2013.

(Logo: http://www.prnasia.com/sa/2010/04/19/20100419602891.jpg )

CPhI Japan, ranked as one of the most international trade shows in the country, hosts more than 50% of companies from outside Japan. This year the show features 234 overseas companies from 23 countries and regions including national pavilions from China, India, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Italy and Scotland. Making its debut at CPhI Japan 2013 is the inaugural Scotland Pavilion. Visitors are expected from over 40 countries.

The exhibition provides international manufacturers and suppliers of pharmaceutical ingredients & intermediates, and other products, services and technologies with access to the world's second largest pharmaceutical market.

Given the generics sector's rapid growth from just over 8% in 2010 to an expected 13% in 2015, manufacturers and traders are urgently seeking to secure new and reliable suppliers of price-competitive and high-quality pharmaceutical ingredients. This trend provides lucrative new business opportunities to international API suppliers around the world and is one of the reasons why international exhibitors at CPhI Japan, particularly from South Korea, China, and India, have continued to increase over the past ten years.

The high yen and intense price competition makes it difficult for Japanese API manufacturers to compete with overseas players, even in their own domestic market. On the other hand, product quality and safety control is the paramount priority for Japanese pharmaceutical manufacturers; thus, suppliers cannot sell their products in the Japanese market purely based on price. Recent instances of overseas suppliers of APIs for generic drugs with failed inspections from the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA)'s GMP inspection has led Japanese generic drug manufacturers having to suspend production of some products due to a lack of ingredients.

As a result, Japanese pharmaceutical manufacturers and traders are very eager to find API suppliers who can provide them with API that are not only competitively priced but are also reliable and of high quality. Stable supply is very important to be successful in Japan.

Seminar sessions at CPhI Japan that explain the inner workings of Japan's Pharmaceutical Affairs Law (PAL) are always oversubscribed. In particular, the session entitled "Explanation and Case Study for Japan Pharmaceutical Affairs Law held in English" has been one of the most popular sessions for overseas participants for the past several years. This year, partly due to the incidents mentioned above, it was fully subscribed shortly after it was announced on the website.

The seminars are given by lecturers from the PMDA and this year there will be an emphasis on case studies. The speakers will provide examples of difficulties in complying with the PAL and solutions. The seminar offers a unique opportunity for companies to ask questions to the PMDA directly if they have any questions about the law.

New for CPhI Japan 2013 is a comprehensive "Buyer Appointment System" for business matching. The new system enables buyers to discover appropriate supplier and business contacts and setup meetings in an effective and efficient manner. The system has already generated 300+ business meetings.

Adding to the cluster of life science related events being held at Tokyo Big Sight this week is Medtec Japan -- Japan's leading exhibition for parts, materials, manufacturing technology and outsourcing for the medical equipment manufacturing industry.

For more information visit: www.cphijapan.com

Notes to Editors

1.  About UBM Japan

UBM Japan Co Ltd is one of Japan's leading exhibition organisers. It organises exhibitions covering the pharmaceutical, health products, medical equipment, information technology, maritime, jewellery and beauty sectors.

2.  About UBM Asia (www.ubmasia.com)

Owned by UBM plc listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia is Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in mainland China, India and Malaysia. Established with its headquarters in Hong Kong and subsidiary companies across Asia and in the US, UBM Asia has a strong global presence in 25 major cities with 29 offices and over 1,200 staff.

With a track record spanning over 30 years, UBM Asia operates in 19 market sectors with 160 dynamic face-to-face exhibitions, 75 high-level professional conferences, 28 targeted trade publications, 18 round-the-clock vertical portals and virtual event services for over 1,000,000 quality exhibitors, visitors, conference delegates, advertisers and subscribers from all over the world. We provide a one-stop diversified global service for high-value business matching, quality market news and online trading networks.

UBM Asia has extensive office networks in China, Southeast Asia and India, three of the world's fastest growing B2B events markets. UBM China has 11 offices in the major cities in mainland China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu and Shenzhen, where we organise more than 60 exhibitions and conferences. In ASEAN, UBM Asia operates from its offices in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines with over 50 events in this region. UBM India teams in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad organise 20 exhibitions and 60 conferences every year across the country.

3.  About UBM plc (www.ubm.com)

UBM plc is a leading global business media company. We inform markets and bring the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, in print and provide them with the information they need to do business successfully. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams which serve commercial and professional communities, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For more information, go to www.ubm.com; follow us on Twitter at @UBM_plc to get the latest UBM news.

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Chris Eve
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SOURCE UBM Asia