Global API developer and manufacturer, Sterling Pharma Solutions, announced it is expanding its scope and efforts in Japan.
As part of that, the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) is working with a number of academic organizations on a several projects, including a fluorination project with Durham University and a continuous processing project with Leeds University. It also works with specialist technology companies, including Prozomics and Nzomics Biocatalysis at Northumbria University.
Its partnerships with those organizations, Sterling says that it can utilize their small-scale capabilities during proof of concept (POC) work, then scale-up and industrialize the processes to deliver APIs to market.
“Japan is the third largest pharmaceutical market in the world and over the last few years we have seen a lot of development in the innovator API space,” Kevin Cook, CEO of Sterling Pharma Solutions, said. “Japanese pharmaceutical companies have tended to manufacture most of their products in-house. However, with cost pressures continuing to increase and the growing emerging pharma sector in Japan, the outsourcing market is rapidly maturing to provide increasing opportunities for CDMOs.”
Koichi Hirayarma, representative for Sterling Pharma Solutions in Japan. (Credit: Sterling Pharma Solutions)
The company says it plans to expand its presence further in this market and recently appointed Koichi Hirayarma (pictured) to drive business development in Japan. He has more than 40 years’ experience across the pharmaceutical, healthcare, and chemical industries, and has previously held positions at Johnson & Johnson and Showa Denko K.K.
Hirayarma’s primary responsibilities at Sterling include driving sales activity and acting as a point of contact for clients in the Japan market.
Sterling Pharma Solutions has been successfully audited by the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) in Japan.
The CDMO, headquartered in England, is the U.K.’s largest provider of API development and manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical industry. It now works with a number of clients in Japan, including two big pharma companies, providing services such as fluorination, hazardous chemistry and continuous processing.
(Source: Sterling Pharma Solutions)
