President’s Message

Contributing to Society through Distribution

MEDIPAL is an enterprise group whose main business is wholesaling in the fields of pharmaceuticals, health, and beauty. We connect numerous manufacturers with customers including medical institutions, dispensing pharmacies, and drug stores. We deliver products and accurate information while also contributing to the efficiency of the industry’s overall supply chain.
Wholesalers do not have the opportunity for direct contact with patients and general consumers, who are the ultimate beneficiaries. However, patients benefit from the provision of enhanced medical care opportunities when the operating efficiency of medical institutions is improved due to the distribution services we provide. We will continue to broadly contribute not only to our customers, but to people and society as a whole. This is MEDIPAL’s management philosophy, which all Group companies share.
Japan experiences many natural disasters, such as earthquakes, typhoons, and torrential rains. The pharmaceuticals and daily necessities we handle are indispensable for supporting people’s lives and healthy lifestyles, and we need to deliver them reliably. Therefore, we have set up high-performance logistics centers throughout Japan and are enhancing their resilience with various disaster prevention measures so that we can maintain stable supply in normal times and during emergencies. ALCs^* are distribution centers for our prescription pharmaceutical wholesale business, and we equip them with seismic isolation systems and in-house power generation systems. We also have a system in place through which a nearby ALC can take over supply for a damaged distribution center. The experience we gained from the Great HanshinAwaji Earthquake in 1995 led us to put our knowledge and ingenuity to use in enhancing our preparations for disasters, helping us to overcome many obstacles since then. Every year on March 11, the day the Great East Japan Earthquake struck, we broadly communicate our stance and determination as a wholesaler in newspapers, with the message “Our mission is to deliver pharmaceuticals in Japan.”
In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic had a serious impact on society and caused behavioral patterns to change significantly. In line with the changes, people have greater expectations for safe and secure medical care. We handle products that are essential for prevention and treatment, such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, clinical test reagents, masks, and disinfectants, and we are taking great care to protect our customers and employees against the risk of infection while maintaining stable supply. Undeterred by existential questions about the value of wholesaling, all MEDIPAL Group employees are united by our determination to support distribution because we know that “All medicines are devoid of meaning if they are not made available for patients.”
Our involvement in building a cold chain distribution system is representative. We are applying our expertise with low-temperature logistics to the challenge of transporting COVID-19 vaccines, and are currently responsible for delivering them to large-scale vaccination sites and workplace vaccination venues.

^*ALC (Area Logistics Center)：A state-of-the-art distribution center in the Prescription Pharmaceutical Wholesale Business. ALCs provide highly functional logistics services to healthcare institutions, including a large selection of pharmaceuticals and related items, high shipping accuracy, Saturday delivery, and partial lot sales.

Group Management That Emphasizes ESG and SDGs

MEDIPAL’s business activities can help achieve a sustainable society, but shareholders and society at large are demanding even more effective ESG and SDG initiatives. We recognize that reducing CO₂ emissions and promoting diversity should be areas of particular focus in our business activities. Pharmaceuticals are bioactive products. Therefore, MEDIPAL and other pharmaceutical wholesalers have commonly delivered small quantities several times a day. However, we must face the reality of having to use large amounts of energy to run many vehicles. The time has come for our industry as a whole to resolve this problem and change the reality of the situation. We have only just begun doing so, but we will proactively address this issue on our own in ways such as reducing the number of vehicles and switching to renewable energy. We are also counting on the understanding and cooperation of our customers, manufacturers, and business partners in resolving this major problem.
The wholesale business does not manufacture its own products. Therefore, people are its greatest asset and human resource development is essential for sound and sustainable corporate development. Having people with diverse values sharing various opinions and working in cooperation with each other will lead to personal growth and the development of the company. Strengthening human resources and evolving our organization is also the foundation of our medium-term vision, and we are promoting diversity within the Group by enhancing the environment for self-directed learning, ensuring an environment in which women can excel, and actively hiring mid-career professionals from other industries. We also devote time and resources to developing the people who will lead the next generation. No one can predict the future, so we want to develop people who can use the power of imagination to make their own way and lead MEDIPAL without being bound by past conventions.

Growth Strategies Aligned with Our Medium-Term Vision

A number of businesses that we expect to be pillars of future earnings, including projects that we have been working on for the past 10 years, have begun contributing to profits. PFM^®* is steadily contributing to results. Under this sustainable business model, we invest in the development of orphan drugs with the goal of generating earnings by supporting the development and stable distribution of pharmaceuticals that are used by a small number of patients. We are also targeting further growth through a focus on sales by our unique ARs and new businesses such as PMS^* (post-marketing surveillance).
DX (digital transformation) using ICT is a major theme in the medical and healthcare sector. DX progress in the medical field will likely reduce wastefulness in medical care, improve the operating efficiency of medical institutions, and enhance patient convenience.
Moreover, the pace of DX has accelerated because of COVID-19. MEDIPAL must address these issues by partnering and collaborating with successful digital healthcare companies. We are currently partnering with companies including MTI Ltd., Medical Data Vision Co., Ltd., and Doctorbook Inc. to create new value that fuses the tangible such as human resources and customers with digital technology.
MEDIPAL is also collaborating with different industries to improve distribution efficiency.
We are cooperating with H.U. Group Holdings, Inc., which operates a leading clinical testing center and has a reagent manufacturer as a subsidiary, to take on the challenge of creating a new environmentally responsible distribution system by combining the infrastructure and expertise of both companies. Furthermore, we have established a corporate venture capital fund called MEDIPAL Innovation Fund together with SBI Investment Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Holdings Inc. MEDIPAL and SBI Investment will invest in and support the growth of startups in Japan and abroad.
These new initiatives will take time to generate results. However, MEDIPAL is always looking ahead and thinking about what will support society, with the desire to further strengthen its new business portfolio.

^*PFM^® (Project Finance & Marketing)：PFM^® is a business model developed by MEDIPAL. We invest in orphan drugs in the development stage and supply them to healthcare providers through preferential marketing rights after they are launched.

^*PMS (Post Marketing Surveillance)：Surveillance that the Japanese government requires companies to conduct after launching pharmaceuticals to verify their quality, efficacy, and safety. PMS consists of early post-marketing sphase vigilance and Post-Marketing Surveillance.

Commitment to Sound Group Growth

MEDIPAL Is Evolving to Stay Relevant

MEDIPAL is now at a turning point amid drastic changes in the business environment, such as changes in corporate activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in systems and markets in the medical industry, greater awareness of ESG and SDGs, and initiatives to achieve their respective goals. A key for us is accelerating “Change the Oroshi” to grow rather than hanging on to the past. MEDIPAL is evolving to stay relevant. We have many strengths, including ALCs and other solid platforms, ARs and other highly specialized people, and collaborations with various partner companies. Our goal is wholesaling that balances a strong earnings base with environmentally responsible businesses.
Regardless of global trends or corporate change, MEDIPAL’s core mindset and aspiration is the desire to help people and be useful. We are able to overcome any difficulty and continue to take on challenges because our employees have this aspiration.
We must remain confident that we are on course, continue to evolve and increase corporate value to achieve our management philosophy of “Contributing to people’s health and the advancement of society through creation of value in distribution.”