Pfizer to get bigger in Japan

US drug giant Pfizer intends to add 100 researchers in Japan by the end of 2006 to a total of 400 as part of its global push to accelerate its drug discovery drive.

Under the business plan, Pfizer\'s research centre in Nagoya, central Japan, would aim to discover three new drug candidates annually by the end of 2006, compared with two now, and four by 2008.

Pfizer, which spends about US$7.7 billion on annual research and development (R&D) globally, has added liver disease to the focus list of the Nagoya centre, which had been working on basic research in the areas of pain and gastrointestinal problems.

Soren Celinder, the newly appointed president of Pfizer Japan, also said the world\'s biggest drug maker aimed to launch eight new drugs in Japan over the next three years, which will help it maintain steady growth in the world\'s second-biggest drug market.

Japan is Pfizer's second-largest market behind the United States, contributing about 7 per cent of total revenue.

Chugai to get smaller

Japan's Chugai Pharmaceutical, half-owned by Roche Holding, has announced it plans to cut the number of its domestic plants to two from five in five to six years.