Chugai has seen its attack on Sawai and Nichi-Iko over their generic eldecalcitol rivals to the originator’s Edirol brand dismissed by a Tokyo district court.

A major overhaul is in progress for Sawai’s Upsher-Smith business, after the Japanese parent company announced leadership changes and a “drastic restructuring” of the US unit in the wake of a significant impairment charge and a hefty annual operating loss that dragged down Sawai’s overall results.

Japan struggles to recover its ever-expanding supply chain for generic drugs after several key players had their production stopped because of a series of GMP violations. As the share of generics grows under government policy, some in the industry argue the problems are deeply rooted in a decades-old pricing system.

The Japanese government will apply new drug reimbursement prices from 1 April, under which Pfizer’s Vyndaqel will be slashed by 75% and UCB's E Keppra by 26%. Nobelpharma and Santen will be also affected by the revision, which averages close to 7% across the board.