David Dodd, president, CEO and Chairman of BioReliance told Outsourcing-Pharma.com that the company choose Japan as a launching point because the country holds extensive opportunities and growth prospects due to its existing pharma/biopharma industry, which is currently ranked number two in the worl behind the US.
He added that the company has had a successful and historical business built out of Japan, and the country and provides a "point of entry" to the entire, high-growth opportunities in the surrounding region.
"With an established and growing business already in Japan and other Asian Pacific countries, BioReliance has served this region successfully for many years," said Dodd.
"However, as these markets continue to flourish, we believe that, with a full-time and expanding presence, we can more rapidly serve the needs of our pharmaceutical/biopharmaceutical clients in this region, while increasing new business relationships."
Although Dodd said he could not disclose the specifics of the company's current clients in the region, he said that "in general, we have business with all of the top 20 pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies; however, newer, smaller clients provide us accelerated growth as we work to assist them in their protocol development, activities and management of their various testing services."
With a staff of three, the new Tokyo office will initially serve as a base for BioReliance's technical/scientific team for conducting client and scientific seminars, account development and other business development opportunities.
"We are targeting a large number of clients for further development and initial development from this office," said Dodd, who added that the company has high growth plans for the entire region, both in commercial development, as well as, potentially, in adding testing facilities and staff on-site, within the region.
The new Japan operations add to BioReliance' existing presence in Rockville, Maryland, where it is headquartered and has primary facilities, along with sites in Glasgow and Stirling, Scotland.
The company employs more than 700 people globally and claims to be the world's largest specialist provider of contract biologics safety testing, good manufacturing practice (GMP) manufacturing and preclinical testing services.