- Koichi Takagi to Remain as Chairman of Board -

Maruho Co., Ltd. (hereinafter “Maruho”), based in Osaka, Japan, announced that its Board of Directors has named Atsushi Sugita Representative Director, President & CEO, effective December 18, 2020. Koichi Takagi has served as President & CEO since 1999 and remains as Chairman of the Board.

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A native of Osaka, Japan, Sugita received his bachelor’s degree in economics from Kyoto University in 1997, and went on to obtain an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in 2005. After working at Johnson & Johnson’s U.S. headquarters and Janssen Japan, Sugita joined Maruho in 2012. After holding various positions at Maruho’s R&D Labs, Head Office, and global subsidiaries, Sugita was elected to the Maruho Board in 2016, becoming Senior Corporate Officer in charge of Global Strategy and Business Development, Finance and Accounting, and Human Resources. Thereafter, Sugita was appointed Executive Corporate Officer of Business Operations & Administration in 2018, and then Executive Vice President in January of 2020. Sugita lives in the historical city of Kyoto, Japan, where he enjoys spending weekends with his wife and three children.

Sugita remarked on his appointment: “Everyone at Maruho is very proud of our 105-year history of stable growth built on the trusting relationships we have with doctors and patients, and I am honored and humbled to be given the opportunity to continue that tradition of success. However, we cannot let past success make us complacent, and certainly the year 2020 has reminded us all how unpredictable the world can be. In order to meet the rapidly changing needs of patients, we must renew our commitment to our corporate vision of ‘Excellence in Dermatology’ while also exploring creative ways to improve patients’ lives, such as development of biologic therapies and expanding our pipeline to include medicines for new therapeutic areas. We must do more than just adapt to change. We must be a force that drives change and innovation and leads the pharmaceutical industry through these uncertain times. We will strive to become a truly global pharmaceutical company that delivers cutting-edge treatments to patients in Japan and the rest of the world.”

About Maruho

Maruho Co., Ltd. has its headquarters in Osaka and leads Japan in research and development, manufacturing and commercialization of dermatological products. Founded in 1915, Maruho has 1,542 employees (as of the end of September 2020), and net sales were approximately 80.34 billion yen in its fiscal year ended September 30, 2020. Pursuing its long-term corporate vision of “Excellence in Dermatology,” Maruho is striving to improve the health and quality of life of people all over the world.

For more information, please visit https://www.maruho.co.jp/english/

Source: Maruho Co., Ltd.