Eisai, Japan's fourth-largest drugmaker, plans to boost production in China and double its sales force in India to support growth and counter "stagnant'' demand for medicines at home, Takeshi Ogoshi, a senior director of business strategy, told Bloomberg. Eisai, based in Tokyo, predicts overseas sales will expand 8% a year through 2011, four-times faster than the pace of its domestic sales of prescription medicines. Ogoshi said the company may triple manufacturing capacity in China. It spent US$17 million building a plant in Suzhou this year and may spend US$8.5 million more increasing production capacity to help generate US$300 million in sales in China by 2011. The company already sells more medicines in China than any other Japanese rival and Ogoshi said it plans to become one of the 10 largest overseas companies selling drugs there by 2011, from No. 19 now.
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