When two of the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies announced a tie-up in Japan, its $78 billion drug industry took note.
In November, the nation's largest drugmaker, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., said it'd separate its off-patent products and share its extensive domestic distribution network with Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the world's largest seller of generic medicines. Their goal: to gain an edge as the government seeks to lower costs for the national health care program by encouraging the use of generics, which are cheaper.
The government's push is reshaping what was once one of the world's most lucrative drug markets, where favorable policies have for years aided the sales of international pharmaceutical brands such as AstraZeneca Plc, Roche Holding Ag and Novartis AG.