An overall revision was made to the three earlier editions of the same publication - Vol. 1 (2003), Vol. 2 (2002), and Vol. 5 (2002). Putting these three volumes together, two revised editions have been published; this is the first portion of the study.

The latest edition of this publication covers a broad scope of topics, including business results, types of products, chemical compounds / technology focus, production capabilities, quality control system, GMP, DMF, environmental protection measures, research and development, affiliations, sales trends, listing of product items that obtained government approval, etc. All of these factors reflect the growing outsourcing trend, complying with the recent trends that have been marked in the pharmaceutical industry in Japan - the April 2005 enforcement of the amended Pharmaceutical Affairs Law, and pharmaceutical business strategies that are now being developed on an international basis