Santen Pharmaceutical opens high-speed line in Suzhou
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Executives from the management committee of the Suzhou Industrial Park and Santen Pharmaceutical (China) Co attend the launch ceremony of a new production line for ophthalmology products.
Ti Gong -
Ti Gong
Japanese ophthalmology specialist Santen Pharmaceutical said it has officially started commercial production on a high-speed eye-drop filling production line in the Suzhou Industrial Park.
The high-speed production line has expanded the manufacturing facility by six times and output has tripled from previous levels.
Santen is also preparing to start construction on a second wholly owned ophthalmology production base in the Suzhou park covering 120,000 square meters, the largest of its kind for the company globally, which will have an estimated annual output of 1 billion units.
In the fiscal year which ended in March, sales from Santen's China businesses accounted for around 9 percent of total revenue.
China's ophthalmology market is expected to see further growth as a result of increasing number of patients and improvements in the health-care system.
Santen's China sales, which mainly come from treatment for dry eyes and bacterial conjunctivitis, increased 4.4 percent to 22.3 billion yen (US$206 million).
"Santen has maintained positive prospects for China's future business and we hope to further support business development here with a new filling production line and new manufacturing site," said Managing Director of Santen Pharmaceutical (China) Co Takayuki Yamada.
"We hope to further strengthen competitiveness by ensuring ample supply and high-quality products here, and continue to contribute to the development of ophthalmology in China," he added.
