The Kyorin Group carries on founding spirit under the corporate philosophy of cherishing life and benefiting society by contributing to better health. In addition to contributing to the treatment of disease by providing superior drugs and by building a portfolio of businesses that can respond to diversifying health needs, from health maintenance and advancement to disease prevention, we are working to enhance our identity as a Group and our corporate value.

To realize that, the Kyorin Group has begun work on HOPE 100, since fiscal 2011 a new long-term vision for the period through 2023, which will mark the 100th anniversary of KYORIN Pharmaceutical, our core subsidiary, as well as a new medium-term business plan, HOPE 100 Stage 1 (for fiscal 2010?2015), designed to reach the objectives of that vision.

Under the long-term vision, the future of the Group is expressed in the statement, “The Kyorin Group will promote diversified business expansion and development of the consumer healthcare business, and by 2023 be recognized both within and outside the Group as a company that supports sound and healthy lifestyles.” The business strategy is to focus on becoming a company that can respond to diversifying healthcare needs, centered on the pharmaceutical business, while working to diversify management risk and achieving sound, sustainable growth. Meanwhile, the Group’s organizational strategy places great value in the idea that “a business is only as good as its people,” and we seek to become a place in which employees can bring passion to their work: in short, a leading company for pursuing fulfilling careers.

Under HOPE 100 Stage 1, the medium-term business plan positioned as the first step in achieving this long-term vision, the Kyorin Group will push ahead with a multi-core (MC) strategy comprising our pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare businesses. In the pharmaceutical business, we will work to build and promote the multi-faceted business model we call our Pharma Complex Model, an approach encompassing new drugs, original drugs, and generic drugs. In new drugs, we will continue to expand our R&D (research and development) pipeline, while supporting the creation of drugs that can be licensed out worldwide. We are also aiming to bring a unique approach to the expansion of our generic drug business. In consumer healthcare, our goal is to supplement risks in the pharmaceutical business and put in place a structure for promoting the Group’s growth by developing Milton and our existing skincare business, and by creating new businesses.

This summarizes our policies for business activity in the medium to long term, but at the same time, the Kyorin Group must of course expand business performance in the short term. While fiscal 2011 promises an even more challenging business environment, we intend to work hard to increase sales and profits. We also recognize that, in this second year of HOPE 100 Stage 1, we will be expected to improve not only results, but operations as well, as we work to achieve our business vision.

Going forward, the Kyorin Group will be even more proactive in transmitting information to our stakeholders, and we hope you will recognize the progress we are making in business performance with HOPE 100 and elsewhere. I look forward to the continued understanding and support of all of our stakeholders.

Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
Masahiro Yamashita