富士膠片轉身成製藥業新星
As fears grew over a widening Ebola outbreak in west Africa, it was an unlikely company to which the world turned for help: Japan’s Fujifilm.
A newcomer to the pharmaceutical industry, the Japanese rival of Eastman Kodak was thrust into global spotlight when its anti-influenza drug emerged as a potential treatment for Ebola patients.
“If requested, we are ready to quickly produce mass amounts,” said Shigetaka Komori, Fujifilm’s chief executive.
The drug, called Avigan, helps block replication of viral genes within an infected cell, and was approved in Japan in March to treat influenza. Researchers have hopes it can work for a range of other diseases including Ebola, West Nile and Marburg virus.
This month, a French nurse recovered from Ebola after being treated with Avigan, and the French and Guinean governments will begin clinical trials of the drug to treat Ebola from November.
The company has a stockpile to treat 20,000 people and said this week that it will ramp up production from next month to meet overseas demand.
Shares in the company are up 16 per cent since the first week of August, when news of the drug’s wider potential emerged.
Fujifilm’s venture into medicine was part of a corporate makeover that began when its analogue film business crumbled with the advent of the digital age. Global demand for photo film peaked in 2000 and the market shrivelled to one-twentieth of its heyday by 2013.
It was that year that Mr Komori, now 75 years old, became Fujifilm’s president and bulldozed through the radical – and often painful – changes that have proved vital for its survival.
Under Mr Komori, Fujifilm branched out into pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, which helped to cushion the fall of its photo film sales.
In a reversal of fate, Kodak, the US arch-rival that Fujifilm had frantically chased after in the postwar period, filed for bankruptcy two years ago, unable to keep up with the industry’s changes.
Fujifilm’s audacious transformation is now an often cited case study for executives looking to diversify their businesses. The company’s nimble turnround also trumped Japan Inc’s reputation for slow restructuring, underscored by Sony’s decade-long entrapment in layoffs and cost cuts.
“You have to do it at one go. Or else it will take time and the wound will keep getting bigger,” Mr Komori said in an interview.
Mr Komori carried out two major rounds of restructuring, one begun in 2006 to offset the decline of its photo film business and another from 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis. That led to the loss or replacement of 10,000 jobs and a combined restructuring charge of more than Y350bn ($3.3bn).
“Who’s going to oppose when the boat is about to sink? It’s better than sacrificing the entire company,” he says.
在埃博拉病毒肆虐西非引發的恐懼日甚之時，國際社會似乎不會去向日本富士膠片(Fujifilm)這樣的公司尋求幫助。
然而，當富士膠片推出的一種抗流感藥物被證明或許能被用來抗擊埃博拉病毒時，這個製藥行業的新手頓時成爲全球矚目的焦點。
富士膠片首席執行官古森重隆( Shigetaka Komori)表示：“只要人們需要，我們已做好快速大批量生產的準備。”
這種名爲Avigan的藥品有助於阻止受感染細胞中病毒基因的複製。今年3月，日本政府已批准將該藥品用於治療流感。研究人員希望這種藥對於包括埃博拉病毒、西尼羅河(West Nile)病毒和馬爾堡(Marburg)病毒在內的一系列其他疾病也能奏效。
這個月，一名法國護士在接受Avigan治療後，從埃博拉病毒感染中康復。從11月開始，法國政府和幾內亞政府將就該藥物治療埃博拉的效果開展臨牀試驗。
目前，富士膠片擁有的該藥品庫存能夠爲2萬人提供治療。就在本週，該公司表示將從下個月開始提高產量，以滿足海外需求。
這種藥品可能可以治療埃博拉病毒感染的消息，是在今年8月份的頭一週傳出的。消息傳出之後，該公司股價上升了16%。
投資製藥產業是富士膠片轉型計劃的一部分。模擬類膠片業務正因爲數字時代的到來而走向末路。全球對膠捲的需求在2000年達到頂峯，隨後便不斷下滑。截至2013年，這一市場的規模已縮水到頂峯時期的二十分之一。
正是在2000年，現年75歲的古森重隆擔任了富士膠片的首席執行官，並開始大力推行激進而痛苦的改革。事實證明，他的改革對富士膠片的生存至關重要。
在古森的領導下，富士膠片啓動了向製藥產業和化妝品產業的多元化經營。這種策略幫助富士膠片緩衝了膠捲銷售額的下滑。
與富士膠片相反，作爲該公司戰後一直瘋狂追趕的美國勁敵，柯達(Kodak)卻因爲不能適應產業的變化，在兩年前申請破產。
富士膠片首次進軍制藥產業是在上世紀80年代中期。當時，該公司膠捲銷售強勁，前景欣欣向榮。作爲第二次嘗試，古森走了一條捷徑：2008年，富士膠片通過一宗規模爲16億美元的交易，收購了虧損中的中型製藥商富山化學(Toyama Chemical)。
如今，富士膠片的醫療保健業務（其中包括製藥、化妝品及醫療設備業務）帶來的營收佔其2.4萬億日元總營收的16%，是僅次於複印機和辦公用品業務的第二大部門。
相比之下，膠捲業務營收佔比還不到1%。目前，這家市值160億美元的公司打算在2018年以前，將醫療保健業務的銷售額擴大兩倍，提升至1萬億日元。
A newcomer to the pharmaceutical industry, the Japanese rival of Eastman Kodak was thrust into global spotlight when its anti-influenza drug emerged as a potential treatment for Ebola patients.
“If requested, we are ready to quickly produce mass amounts,” said Shigetaka Komori, Fujifilm’s chief executive.
The drug, called Avigan, helps block replication of viral genes within an infected cell, and was approved in Japan in March to treat influenza. Researchers have hopes it can work for a range of other diseases including Ebola, West Nile and Marburg virus.
This month, a French nurse recovered from Ebola after being treated with Avigan, and the French and Guinean governments will begin clinical trials of the drug to treat Ebola from November.
The company has a stockpile to treat 20,000 people and said this week that it will ramp up production from next month to meet overseas demand.
Shares in the company are up 16 per cent since the first week of August, when news of the drug’s wider potential emerged.
Fujifilm’s venture into medicine was part of a corporate makeover that began when its analogue film business crumbled with the advent of the digital age. Global demand for photo film peaked in 2000 and the market shrivelled to one-twentieth of its heyday by 2013.
It was that year that Mr Komori, now 75 years old, became Fujifilm’s president and bulldozed through the radical – and often painful – changes that have proved vital for its survival.
Under Mr Komori, Fujifilm branched out into pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, which helped to cushion the fall of its photo film sales.
In a reversal of fate, Kodak, the US arch-rival that Fujifilm had frantically chased after in the postwar period, filed for bankruptcy two years ago, unable to keep up with the industry’s changes.
Fujifilm’s audacious transformation is now an often cited case study for executives looking to diversify their businesses. The company’s nimble turnround also trumped Japan Inc’s reputation for slow restructuring, underscored by Sony’s decade-long entrapment in layoffs and cost cuts.
“You have to do it at one go. Or else it will take time and the wound will keep getting bigger,” Mr Komori said in an interview.
Mr Komori carried out two major rounds of restructuring, one begun in 2006 to offset the decline of its photo film business and another from 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis. That led to the loss or replacement of 10,000 jobs and a combined restructuring charge of more than Y350bn ($3.3bn).
“Who’s going to oppose when the boat is about to sink? It’s better than sacrificing the entire company,” he says.
在埃博拉病毒肆虐西非引發的恐懼日甚之時，國際社會似乎不會去向日本富士膠片(Fujifilm)這樣的公司尋求幫助。
然而，當富士膠片推出的一種抗流感藥物被證明或許能被用來抗擊埃博拉病毒時，這個製藥行業的新手頓時成爲全球矚目的焦點。
富士膠片首席執行官古森重隆( Shigetaka Komori)表示：“只要人們需要，我們已做好快速大批量生產的準備。”
這種名爲Avigan的藥品有助於阻止受感染細胞中病毒基因的複製。今年3月，日本政府已批准將該藥品用於治療流感。研究人員希望這種藥對於包括埃博拉病毒、西尼羅河(West Nile)病毒和馬爾堡(Marburg)病毒在內的一系列其他疾病也能奏效。
這個月，一名法國護士在接受Avigan治療後，從埃博拉病毒感染中康復。從11月開始，法國政府和幾內亞政府將就該藥物治療埃博拉的效果開展臨牀試驗。
目前，富士膠片擁有的該藥品庫存能夠爲2萬人提供治療。就在本週，該公司表示將從下個月開始提高產量，以滿足海外需求。
這種藥品可能可以治療埃博拉病毒感染的消息，是在今年8月份的頭一週傳出的。消息傳出之後，該公司股價上升了16%。
投資製藥產業是富士膠片轉型計劃的一部分。模擬類膠片業務正因爲數字時代的到來而走向末路。全球對膠捲的需求在2000年達到頂峯，隨後便不斷下滑。截至2013年，這一市場的規模已縮水到頂峯時期的二十分之一。
正是在2000年，現年75歲的古森重隆擔任了富士膠片的首席執行官，並開始大力推行激進而痛苦的改革。事實證明，他的改革對富士膠片的生存至關重要。
在古森的領導下，富士膠片啓動了向製藥產業和化妝品產業的多元化經營。這種策略幫助富士膠片緩衝了膠捲銷售額的下滑。
與富士膠片相反，作爲該公司戰後一直瘋狂追趕的美國勁敵，柯達(Kodak)卻因爲不能適應產業的變化，在兩年前申請破產。
富士膠片首次進軍制藥產業是在上世紀80年代中期。當時，該公司膠捲銷售強勁，前景欣欣向榮。作爲第二次嘗試，古森走了一條捷徑：2008年，富士膠片通過一宗規模爲16億美元的交易，收購了虧損中的中型製藥商富山化學(Toyama Chemical)。
如今，富士膠片的醫療保健業務（其中包括製藥、化妝品及醫療設備業務）帶來的營收佔其2.4萬億日元總營收的16%，是僅次於複印機和辦公用品業務的第二大部門。
相比之下，膠捲業務營收佔比還不到1%。目前，這家市值160億美元的公司打算在2018年以前，將醫療保健業務的銷售額擴大兩倍，提升至1萬億日元。
