Press Release

Newsweek International Features ASKA PharmaceuticalTOKYO, September 14, 2023 - ASKA Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minatoku, Tokyo / President, Representative Director: Takashi Yamaguchi) is pleased to announce that
Sohta Yamaguchi, President, Representative Director of its subsidiary, ASKA Pharmaceutical Co.,
Ltd. (hereinafter “ASKA”), was interviewed by the news agency, the Worldfolio PTE. LTD. and thearticle introducing ASKA was published in the US weekly magazine “Newsweek International.”
Newsweek is an American weekly magazine with a global readership of approximately 46 million
people, and provides information on all areas of global culture, politics, economics, and social
conditions. Newsweek offered to introduce our company as one of the Japanese companies inthe special feature “Japan leads the way in healthcare innovation,” resulting in the interview withASKA.
The full of the interview is posted on the news website “The WORLDFOLIO.”;
https://www.theworldfolio.com/interviews/aska-we-create-new-value-as-leading-womenshealthcare-company/5872/* The Worldfolio PTE. LTD. has granted permission to post the article here.
The Worldfolio PTE. LTD.：The Worldfolio is a media agency and a news website that has been bringing high-quality content
to readers around the globe for over 20 years. The Worldfolio PTE LTD is now based in Singapore
and provides breaking news, in-depth analyses, and investigative stories about a wide range oftopics and sectors, including manufacturing, real estate, construction, healthcare, digitaltransformation and more.

Media Contacts

ASKA Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd.
Corporate Planning Department
Tel: +81-3-5484-8366
Email: kouhou@aska-pharma.co.jp

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Original article published in Newsweek on September 1st, 2023. Written by the Worldfolio
CONTENT BY THE WORLDFOLIO

ASKA Pharmaceutical looking to be the number
one total healthcare company
With drugs for internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and urology, ASKA is making sure that
all of its patients’ health needs are met.

“We create new value
as a leading women’shealthcare company.”
Sohta Yamaguchi,
President,
ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
First established in 1920, ASKA
Pharmaceutical has grown tobecome the leading company infemale healthcare in Japan, andcurrently occupies the number onesales position domestically in thefields of obstetrics and gynecology.
That status owes much to thegroup’s ability to adapt, and as
recently as 2021 the firm changed
its management style to a holdings
structure, enabling it to provide
a holistic service from prevention, examination and diagnosis
to treatment and post-treatment.
“ASKA Pharmaceutical Holdings Co., Ltd. has several groupcompanies,” company president
Sohta Yamaguchi explains, “andone of them focuses on pharma-

Head office in Tokyo
ceutical drugs, while another focuses on testing and equipment
for early diagnosis and prevention. With this comprehensive
approach, we can increase ourbusiness opportunities.”
One of the group’s core businesses is the production of oral
contraceptives (OCs), which, incontrast to condoms, allow womenpany in Vietnam, hoping to takeadvantage of the country’s growing economy and medical market.
Through this partnership, ASKA isaiming to establish a strong presence in Vietnam and expand into
other Asian countries from there.
Looking to the future, ASKA
has set itself a number of goals toachieve in the mid-term. “We wantto remain the leader in the field ofobstetrics and gynecology, bothin name and in reality,” says theASKA Pharmaceutical president.
“We contribute to the stablesupply of essential drugs and theelimination of unmet needs. For
example, in the thyroid disease
area, where we already have amarket share of more than 90%,
we are working on various initiatives. As well as ensuring thatthyroid patients have access toa reliable pharmaceutical supply,
we are aiming to develop drugs
that minimize the side effects
of existing drugs, or drugs that

Obstetrics and gynecology products by life stage
to assert their preference for non- seeking new collaborations overpregnancy.
seas, particularly in the fields of
But as well as producing OCs, internal medicine, obstetrics and
ASKA Pharmaceutical is also ac- gynecology, and urology.
A two-pronged strategy will
tively working on developing drugs
see the company introduce uniquedrugs developed by overseas companies to the Japanese market aswell as offering licensing partnerships to overseas companies for
drugs it has developed itself.
A Relugolix combination tablet
Drugs for the treatment of thyroid called AKP-022, for instance, isdisease when launched in 1922
to minimize their side effects.
Mr. Yamaguchi again: “Weare currently in phase three ofdeveloping LF111, which utilizes
only progesterone, thus eliminating the side effects associated with estrogen.”
Treatment of dysmenorrhea isanother core focus. To this end,
ASKA has recently launched its
DroEthi combination tablets,
which, according to Mr. Yamaguchi, provide a “generic alternative to a well-established product Total healthcare company with a strong foundation as a specialty
pharma company
already on the market.”
While initial feedback has been set to go to clinical trials in July treat thyroid disease with a difgood, it is only one in a range of 2023. Focusing on uterine fibroids ferent approach,” Mr. Yamaguchi
products the company offers in in females, the product is being explains. “Through this we will
this particular field. “One of ourpositioned as the successor respond to medical needs thatstrengths,” Mr. Yamaguchi
to RELUMINA, and is have previously not been met.”
explains, “is that we proexpected to enable
Through its provision of drugs
longer durations of and treatments as well as medicalvide a number of prodadministration, and equipment and related services,
ucts for dysmenorrhea
therefore improve the ultimate aim, Mr. Yamagutreatment, a field inpatient convenience. chi states, is “to become a total
which we hold aroundIn 2021, mean- healthcare company and a global
a 50% market share.”
And indeed, having
while, the company company, offering comprehensive
long conducted R&D
invested in a partner- health services for females.”both in-house andship with Ha Tay
with other companies, Three core areas with a P h a r m a c e u t i c a l
ASKA is now actively focus on pharmaceuticals Joint Stock Comwww.aska-pharma.co.jp