Chennai, April 10 (IANS) Cephalosporin bulk drug manufacturer Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd has announced that it has formed a Japanese subsidiary, Orchid Pharma Japan KK, to enter the generics market of that country. Orchid is targeting a turnover of $100 million over the next five years selling its generic antibiotic and life style disease products in Japan, said K. Raghavendra Rao, managing director, Thursday.

According to Orchid, the Japanese generics market is currently estimated at $2.5 billion.

The move into Japan follows Orchid’s successful emergence in the US antibiotics generics market as a leading cephalosporin generics player.

The company claims that it would achieve a similar presence in the European antibiotic generics space for which over 15 dossiers have already been filed with European regulatory authorities.

However, the company is silent on the investment it has made in the Japanese market.

It is also unclear whether Orchid would leverage its Chinese joint venture company to make supplies to Japan.