Japan’s Eisai Boosts Inventory For Possible Flu Pandemic
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
As a measure to ward off a possible flu pandemic, Eisai maintains three month's worth of drug inventories in three Japanese factories as well as factories in the U.S., Taiwan, China and Indonesia. Eisai also has secured two month's worth of inventories in drug materials, and has initiated a multiple-supplier system. Eisai sells products to over 70 countries and revenue from overseas markets accounts for 60 percent of its sales. President Haruo Naito said that even if stocking inventory costs more, it is necessary to ensure uninterrupted supply. Other companies such as Takeda are also considering taking similar inventory measures and Pfizer has made a manual according to different stages of a pandemic, and set up a system that is able to import drugs from China and the U.S. in a crisis. (Click here for more - Japanese language