Pharmaceutical company intelligence reports from Espicom provide a full review of the company's activities together with five-year sales forecasts for its key products. The company's financial performance is covered in-depth, from its latest results to a complete analysis of its latest full fiscal year and an outlook for the future. A section on company strategy covers mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, key agreements, products and R&D. An overview of key products and R&D is followed by a comprehensive review of the company's product portfolio and research and development pipeline by therapeutic area. In addition, supplementary appendices provide more in-depth information on financials, agreements and corporate events. Headquartered in Japan, Eisai operates in two main business areas: Pharmaceuticals, including ethical drugs, OTC products and diagnostics; and Others, which comprises pharmaceutical production systems and equipment. Eisai has clinical research bases in North America, Europe, Asia and Japan, and employs over 9,600 people worldwide. Eisai sells products within the following therapeutic areas: neurology; gastroenterology; cardiovascular and respiratory; anti-infectives; metabolic; and diagnostics. It is now focusing its research and development efforts on neurology, gastroenterology and oncology/critical care.

Foreign subsidiaries and operations generates 60.9 per cent of Eisai's sales in fiscal 2007 (compared to 53 per cent the previous year), and the company continues to strive to create efficient global management. Much of Eisai's globalisation has been generated through the success of its two core products: Aricept, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and Aciphex/Pariet, a therapy for gastric acid-related conditions. In order to maximise the value of these products abroad, Eisai recognised the need for strategic alliances with companies with greater experience in foreign markets. Therefore, Eisai has been marketing Aricept in various markets with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer since November 1994, and Aciphex/Pariet has benefited from co-marketing with Janssen Pharmaceutica (a major subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson) in both European and US markets since January 1997. Such is Eisai's confidence in the recognition and standing of these products, and in its own US operations, the company assumed total control over the marketing of Aricept in the US in September 2005, and of Aciphex/Pariet, earlier in January 2004. Eisai is now targeting the emerging markets of China and India and, in October 2004, established the first Japanese pharmaceutical subsidiary in India, followed in March 2007, by the establishment of an active pharmaceutical ingredient R&D and manufacturing subsidiary, Eisai Pharmatechnology Manufacturing Pvt Ltd in Vishakhapatnam, which will commence operations in fiscal 2010. Eisai will be committing resources to these markets on a priority basis, thus laying the foundations for future business.

Both of the aforementioned products will be the key growth drivers for Eisai in the short-term, however, pending patent expirations (25th November 2010, for Aricept, and May 2013, for Aciphex/Pariet) are a serious concern for the company which will need to be addressed. Eisai's main response has been to attempt to generate the optimum value out of the products, mainly through the generation of various indications and formulations to dominate their respective therapeutic areas.