CHEPLAPHARM Arzneimittel GmbH, based in Greifswald/Germany, has opened a presence in the Japanese capital Tokyo and obtained the pharmaceutical licence for Japan. With this, CHEPLAPHARM meets the requirements to be a Marketing Authorisation Holder in Japan. The managing director of the founded CHEPLAPHARM KK is Kentaro Ichimori, who most recently held a leading position for Sandoz in Japan.
With the opening of the Japanese location, CHEPLAPHARM is striving for developing from a medium-sized German company to a globally active group and is consistently continuing its internationalisation strategy. Establishing a presence in Japan and launching CHEPLAPHARM as a local brand is important to further build trust with local business partners, doctors and patients.
"Good and trustworthy business relationships are essential for working in the Japanese market. With the opening of our location in Tokyo and the receipt of the pharmaceutical licence for Japan, we can respond even better to the market conditions. With his more than 15 years of experience in the Japanese pharmaceutical market, Kentaro Ichimori is the perfect match to lead our Japanese subsidiary", says Edeltraud Lafer, CEO of CHEPLAPHARM Arzneimittel GmbH.
The opening of an office in Tokyo and the presence on the Japanese market serves to establish CHEPLAPHARM as a brand in Japan and make it better known, thus leveraging further growth potential. Furthermore, the Japanese pharmaceutical market is considered one of the most strictly regulated in the world and the complexity for approvals by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is correspondingly high.
In this context Kentaro Ichimori, Managing Director of CHEPLAPHARM KK, underlines: "CHEPLAPHARM has already been active on the Japanese market for several years, until now always through partners. With our own location, a dedicated team and our own pharmaceutical licence, we will be even more effective in the cooperation with our partners, but also independently. Our goal is not only to be the local holder of the Marketing Authorisations and to be responsible for the marketing of the products. Rather, we want to establish CHEPLAPHARM KK as a company that meets the high Japanese ethical and quality standards while supporting doctors and patients."
Kentaro Ichimori has over 15 years of leadership experience in the Japanese healthcare market. Prior to joining CHEPLAPHARM, Kentaro Ichimori led the Oncology Bio Business Unit and Strategic Planning & Execution Department at Sandoz Japan and was responsible for Business Development at Aspen Japan from 2016 to 2023. Prior to that, he held various positions at Boston Scientific Japan, Abbott Japan and Baxter Japan (all Tokyo) and Teva Seiyaku in Nagoya from 2007. The Japanese Canadian studied Aerospace Engineering at Ryerson University (Now the Toronto Metropolitan University) in Toronto, Canada. Later, Kentaro Ichimori completed a Master’s in Business Administration at Temple University’s Tokyo Campus, Japan, graduating with distinction on the Dean's List in 2013.