What are some of the major challenges for Japanese health care companies after the deal closes?
“The major challenge, not only in the pharmaceutical and health care sector but for any business, is culture,” Mr. Minars said. “A Japanese company may have a much different perspective in terms of the management structure and the decision-making process, which can be quite frustrating” to management of the acquired company as companies try to integrate in an optimal fashion following an acquisition. Acquirers struggle with how best to measure synergies and how much autonomy to give the new subsidiary. There’s lots of competition for U.S. companies from generic drugs, and this will only grow as patents expire on big-name drugs in the next two or three years. Why are Japanese companies continuing to do acquisitions in this challenging environment? It’s based on individual company strategies, Mr. Minars said. Shionogi is doing the deal with Victory Pharma to acquire Victory’s U.S. sales force. Other companies are looking to expand in a particular sector, for example oncology. “Each compa
