ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has agreed with AND PHARMA Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Shingo Iwamoto, President and Representative Director; hereinafter “AND PHARMA”), a pharmaceutical industry group focused on pharmaceutical manufacturing, to acquire shares in AND PHARMA and make it one of its equity-method affiliates.

Under this transaction, in addition to subscribing to new shares to be issued by AND PHARMA through a third-party allotment, ITOCHU plans to acquire a portion of the shares held by Godo Kaisha JEH (* The name provided here is a non-official translation for reference purposes), which is operated and managed by J-Will Partners Co., Ltd. Following these transactions, ITOCHU is scheduled to acquire 20.00% of AND PHARMA’s shares (investment amount: approx. 16.2 billion yen).

Japan’s generic pharmaceutical market^＊1 has achieved the government target of an 80% share by volume, against the backdrop of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s promotion of medical cost optimization initiatives^＊2 and is expected to continue expanding. At the same time, in order to address continued social challenges such as the containment of medical expenses and ensuring a stable supply of pharmaceuticals, the government is encouraging the consolidation of product lines and the streamlining of supply, and there has been momentum toward corporate collaboration and industry reorganization. Furthermore, there are growing expectations for building a sustainable pharmaceutical supply system, including reinforcing supply chain resilience and developing diverse distribution channels.

AND PHARMA is a pure holding company with subsidiaries including Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry Co., Ltd., and the T’s Group (T’s Pharma Co., Ltd. and T’s Seiyaku Co., Ltd.), and its scale of sales is comparable to that of the major generic drug companies in Japan. With a broad product lineup that spans generic pharmaceuticals—including authorized generics^＊3, biosimilars^＊4, and long-listed products^＊5, AND PHARMA plays a key role in maintaining a stable supply of pharmaceuticals in Japan.

ITOCHU, leveraging collaboration with its Group companies and global network, engages in a wide range of businesses across the pharmaceutical industry, including procurement and supply of pharmaceutical raw materials, provision of logistics and distribution functions, and R&D support. Going forward, ITOCHU will combine its extensive supply chain expertise and know-how with Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Naoyuki Mochida, President and Representative Director; hereinafter “Mochida”), which is also acquiring shares in this transaction and brings distinctive R&D capabilities and extensive technical know-how. Together with AND PHARMA, the parties aim to strengthen manufacturing, quality control, and supply platforms, and work to enhance production efficiency and build a more resilient and stable supply system for generic pharmaceuticals. In addition, leveraging consumer touchpoints in downstream consumer sectors where the ITOCHU Group has strong capabilities, ITOCHU will pursue new initiatives through horizontal collaboration, such as the development of distribution networks for generic pharmaceuticals.

Based on its Management Policy, “The Brand-new Deal – Profit opportunities are shifting downstream,” ITOCHU is building market-oriented business models. Through this investment, ITOCHU will strive to ensure both stable supply and quality assurance of generic pharmaceuticals, contributing to the optimization of medical costs and the realization of a society where better healthcare is delivered.