TOKYO (Nikkei)--An increasing number of Japanese consumers are importing
foreign pharmaceutical products that have not been approved in Japan, The Nihon
Keizai Shimbun reported in its Friday morning edition.
Many drugs to treat hair loss, insomnia or depression that are widely used in
the U.S. are still unavailable in Japan. Consumers who learn about the drugs
are deluging import agencies with requests for the products, the newspaper
said.
According to a Tokyo-based company that began importing pharmaceutical and
health-food products two years ago, most customers are men in their late 20s or
early 30s.
Particularly popular items include Rogaine, a Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc.
treatment for hair loss, and melatonin, a substance used to combat insomnia.
The company has also received a number of inquiries about Merck & Co.'s
hair-growth drug Propecia and Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra, an impotence treatment,
both hit products in the U.S.
Eyeing the increase in Japanese demand, a number of companies advertise such
drugs on their Internet homepages, the newspaper said.
According to the Health and Welfare Ministry, the importation of
pharmaceutical products solely for individual use does not violate the
country's Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. Nevertheless, the ministry has begun
considering actions such as clamping down on the advertising of unapproved
drugs, the newspaper said.
A Health and Welfare Ministry official said that if the ministry sees
Japanese companies post any information on unapproved drugs on the Internet, it
will consider that a violation of the law,' a ministry official. The ministry
cannot restrict advertising posted overseas, however.
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 04-30-98
12:00 PM |
