Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. and Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. said Tuesday they have agreed to merge in a bid to survive intensifying global competition.
The merger, scheduled to take place on April 1, 2005, will create the country's second-largest drugmaker after Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. in terms of worldwide sales.
Yamanouchi is currently Japan's third-largest drugmaker, and Fujisawa is fifth.
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