EPS Holdings aims to build Japan-Sino bridge inpharma innovation
Having spent the latter half of 2020 providing the pharmaceutical industry with clinical trial services needed todevelop a Covid-19 vaccine, Japan’s EPS Holdings is focusing on China as the ideal market to grow its collaborative
approach to healthcare R&D.

“Lately, China has
also started toproduce and conduct
pharmaceutical R&D,
but Japan is very
powerful when it
comes to delivering
innovative, valueadded solutions”
Hao Yan, Chairman & CEO,EPS Holdings
Japan, renowned as it is for its
contribution to technological innovation in the manufacturing fields,
has dominated high-tech industry
for decades, and the leading research and development (R&D)
that it provides for the international health and pharmaceuticalsegment is no different.
Although the country’s market
presence in this sector might havereceded over recent times, witha shrinking population meaning
fewer people today are paying for
health insurance, its capacity tocome up with new health and pharmaceutical solutions for the world
market – where demand overall is
growing – certainly has not.
“Even with these challenges inour own population, Japan continues to innovate in terms ofhealthcare. This is a true value of
the Japanese market, so I doubt
this will go away,” says Hao Yan,
Chairman & CEO of EPS Holdings,
a Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed
drug development Group headquartered in the Japanese capital.
“Not many countries can support what is necessary to create new drugs and undertake
pharmaceutical R&D. The US,UK, France, Germany and Switzerland all do so, but in Asia,
Japan has traditionally been theonly country that could do suchthings,” explains Mr. Yan, whosecompany is involved largely inthe area of clinical trials, data
management, and statisticalanalysis for the medical sector.
“Lately, China has also started
to produce and conduct pharmaceutical R&D, but Japan isvery powerful when it comesto delivering innovative, valueadded solutions.”
Unlike many industries, whichhave seen consumer demand fall
off a cliff in 2020 due to the catastrophic impact of the Covid-19
pandemic, international healthcare and pharmaceuticals haveexperienced slightly differentpressures this year. The unprecedented stress on the sector hasbrought various unique challenges,
not least the race to develop an
effective vaccine for a potential
global market in record time.
As a business specializing inclinical trials, EPS Holdings cantestify to this, having worked meticulously over recent months on
one of many international Covid-19
vaccine projects that it hopes toroll out as a safe and proven treatment rapidly and efficaciously.
Although Covid is a challenge
for all involved in the sector,
it is also presenting opportunities. Even prior to the pandemic, Deloitte estimated that
global healthcare spending wasexpected to rise at a compoundannual growth rate (CAGR) of
5% in 2019-23; an estimation
likely to be revised somewhat
given the goings-on of this year.
Above all, says the EPS Holdings
CEO, the pandemic has confirmed
the undying importance of industry innovation and collaboration.
So much so that the company –directly on the back of its Covid-19
work – will be altering its businessmodel to encourage even more“co-creation” of drugs with its international partners and clients.
“Right now, whilst we can support clinical trials, we are looking

to continue improving our services by enhancing our efficiency
and optimizing our success rates,”says Mr. Han. “We also want toexpand our client base outside ofJapan, which currently is wheremuch of our portfolio is. Though
the Japanese market will always
remain number one for us, it is
not going to grow bigger than itis, so we are looking to expand
our partnerships in Asia.”

means providing clinical researchservices to the Chinese market.
We have also set up a businessto sell Japanese medical devices
in China because Japan has aunique array of products backed
with great research results. Expanding into China is difficult,
but we want to be a bridge toaccomplish this tricky task, not
as a broker, but as a company
doing real R&D on the ground.”The factory of Shanghai Huaxin in China.

First and foremost, the key target market is China; a growinginternational player in pharma
development. And tasked withgrowing EPS Holdings’ presencein the country and forging a stronger R&D connection between Japan and China – as well the wider
Southeast Asia region – is theGroup’s Ekishin (EPS China) business. The company manufacturesand sells medical devices andpharmaceuticals through subsidiaries based in Japan and China.
“There are two parts to the[Ekishin] business,” explains theEPS Holdings CEO. “First, expanding our Contract ResearchOrganization (CRO), which

In order to facilitate this process and complement the Group’s
wider expansion, the business recently established its Souken Center, an EPS research base in Japan. “We will market the products
evaluated at the Souken Centeras pharmaceuticals and medical
devices in China,” says Mr. Yan.
“In doing so, EPS Holdings willplay a central role in Japan andChina working together in orderto contribute to the developmentof the Asian healthcare industry.”

www.eps-holdings.co.jp/