Asahi Kasei Unifies Global Pharmaceutical Business Under One Brand, Targets ¥300 Billion in Sales by 2030

Asahi Kasei is unifying its global pharmaceutical business under the single brand Asahi Kasei Therapeutics and is aiming to reach ¥300 billion (about $1.9 billion) in sales by 2030.

According to Fierce Pharma on the 1st (local time), Tokyo-based Asahi Kasei has pursued global expansion since acquiring U.S.-based Veloxis Pharmaceuticals in 2020.

In 2024, it acquired Sweden’s Calliditas for about $1 billion, and in February this year, it agreed to pay about $920 million to acquire Germany’s AiCuris.

Until now, the acquired companies have retained their own brands, but going forward they will all operate as Asahi Kasei Therapeutics. That is the name of the company’s existing pharmaceutical division in Japan.

Asahi Kasei said the integration establishes a single global management structure for its pharmaceutical business.

“We will be able to make resource-allocation decisions for the business as a whole, rather than by company or region,” said Yoshikazu Aoki, global president of Asahi Kasei Therapeutics. “It provides a stronger platform for pursuing licensing opportunities.”

The company plans to invest about ¥40 billion (about $250 million) in licensing over the next 3 years. Licensing and additional mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are part of its strategy to reach ¥300 billion in sales by fiscal 2030.

Asahi Kasei is focusing on specialty therapeutic areas, including immunology, nephrology, transplantation and infectious diseases.

The Veloxis acquisition added the kidney transplant treatment Envarsus XR, while the Calliditas acquisition added Tarpeyo, a treatment for immunoglobulin A nephropathy.

The AiCuris acquisition marked Asahi Kasei’s entry into infectious disease drug development. AiCuris receives sales royalties for Prevymis, a cytomegalovirus treatment licensed to Merck & Co., and has a pipeline of treatments for infectious diseases including herpes simplex virus.