Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. will set up a subsidiary in Malaysia to independently promote sales of its flagship Salonpas pain-relief patch and other products.
The Japanese drugmaker said in a statement last week that its wholly owned subsidiary, Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Malaysia, will be established in October.
Hisamitsu currently sells its products in Malaysia through an import agent.
Salonpas, Hisamitsu's globally popular over-the-counter pain reliever, generated ¥33 billion ($300 million) in sales in the business year through February 2019, with overseas sales accounting for about 66 percent of the total.
The company hopes to raise overseas sales of Salonpas by 18.5 percent to ¥25.8 billion in the current year through February.
Hisamitsu has overseas subsidiaries in Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, the United States, Britain and Brazil.