The latest trends and practices in the pharmaceutical industry

Masaki Noda is a partner at Nishimura & Asahi, practicing corporate and M&A including mergers, acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, capital and business alliances, joint ventures, and going-private transaction by PE funds.
 
 Among various types of M&A transactions, Masaki Noda has been advising on many complicated and sophisticated deals requiring structuring of various aspects, such as taxes and outbound and inbound cross-border transactions. Some major transactions he has advised on as lead counsel are the defense of Nippon Paint against a hostile acquisition attempt by Wuthelam Holdings in Singapore; the acquisition of equity interests in Post Advisory in the US by Nippon Life; Rakuten’s purchase of shares in Taiwan Rakuten from Presidential Group in Taiwan; the acquisition of shares in GA Telesis by Century Tokyo Leasing; Nippon Paint’s issuance of shares to Wuthelam Holdings in Singapore and purchase of equity interests in JVs from Wuthelamm Holdings in eight jurisdictions (China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Bangladesh); Rakuten’s alliance with AirAsia and formation of a joint venture in Japan (i.e., AirAsia Japan); Nippon Life’s purchase of 80% of the shares in MLC Limited specializing in the life insurance business, after carving out the investment business from National Australia Bank and MLC’s 20-year distribution agreement with National Australia Bank; and a merger of equals with equity consideration between a large Japanese listed company and a US listed company.

He has handled more than 200 M&A deals for listed and private companies, both in Japan and overseas, by utilizing his practical experience obtained in the United States, which has allowed him to establish a strong reputation in the fields of business revitalization, bankruptcy, and litigation. He also deals with a wide variety of projects, which range from startup acquisitions to tender offer deals. In the field of disputes, he mainly deals with large and complex proceedings, and also has experience in international arbitration and mediation. Since he counts a large number of listed companies and universities as his clients and also serves as an outside director/auditor of various listed companies, he has been heavily involved in businesses run by manufacturers and retailers, as well as those in the healthcare industry and real estate industry, and those related to IT, human resources, and the operation of universities. He has accumulated a wealth of legal knowledge and experience and advises clients on a wide range of legal topics, including corporate law, commercial law, personnel and labor law, intellectual property, and antitrust.

Alisa Inuzuka advises clients in the life science and healthcare industries on matters including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, cosmetics, health foods, medical systems, and laboratory tests. In addition, she has experience in M&A, regulatory advice, reviewing and drafting various contracts, and crisis management and investigation, as well as communicating with the relevant authorities in these areas. She also supports non-healthcare companies in entering into the healthcare industry as well as the entry of non-Japanese healthcare companies into the Japanese market. She seeks to contribute to enhancing people’s health and lives by working to maximize clients’ business opportunities.

Mariko has strong expertise in pharmaceutical industry-focused practices, and she has advised on regulations, compliance, M&A, licensing, etc. She has also been involved in crisis management third-party investigation committees, and gave advice based on her extensive experience and knowledge acquired from her experience as one of the board members and management team of several pharmaceutical companies. She is also actively engaged in pro bono matters and in Diversity & inclusion promotional activities, as well as Business and Human Rights and ESG. She takes a leadership role as a core member of our firm’s D&I Promotion.