A report in the Nikkei claims GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) will follow Pfizer's example and close its research base in Tsukuba, relocating the 100 scientists employed there to the development division of its Japanese subsidiary. The move could happen as soon as this summer, according to the paper. According to the report, the pharma heavyweight hopes that the move will allow it to accelerate its clinical trials and the commercialisation of new products.
Only 15 years ago, GSK spent about ¥20bn (€127m) on the facility, said the Nikkei, but will now concentrate its research in the US and UK.
The move comes as a further blow to the growing pharma market in Japan. Several pharma giants are restructuring their businesses to cope with increasing demands in the sector. It is the smaller research facilities, such as those in Japan, that remain a likely target for cost cutting, according to the Nikkei.
In January, Pfizer announced its intension to close its research site in Japan, with 380 scientists being asked to relocate worldwide to stay with the company. The article also said that Merck & Co is considering reducing their research operations in Japan.
The closure contradicts a recent report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), which said that a deregulatory trend in the country, resulting in efforts to accelerate new drug approvals and the removal of compulsory local manufacturing had all made investment opportunities in the sector more attractive.
However PWC did say that clinical development in the country has been held back by the high cost of trials and the reluctance of patients to participate in them. The Japanese government is facing up to the problem though, and is about half way through an extended, six-year plan aimed at addressing the problems.
Having seen improvements in both the number of hospitals conducting trials and the numbers of patients enrolling in them, the Japanese government is now concentrating on improving the training of clinical investigators, clinical research coordinators, institutional review board members, data managers and bio-statisticians.
