Daiichi Reorganizes Vitamin Business 35444

Daiichi Reorganizes Vitamin Business

TOKYO--Daiichi Pharmaceutical is reorganizing itsvitamin businesses in Europe and the United States. Effective Oct. 1, the finechemicals business of Daiichi Pharmaceutical Europe GmbH in Dsseldorf,Germany, and the operations of Daiichi Fine Chemicals Co. in Vernon Hills, Ill.,will become subsidiaries of Daiichi Fine Chemicals Co. in Takaoka City, Japan.The pharmaceutical business of Daiichi Pharmaceutical Europe will move toLondon. This move follows the decision in October 2001 to move the operations ofits fine chemical and marketing businesses in Japan under Daiichi Fine Chemicalsin Takaoka City to maximize growth potential and shareholder value.

"The company is reorganizing on an accounting level to havetwo groups--fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals," said Tim Jacobson, chiefexecutive officer and president of the U.S. Daiichi Fine Chemicals business (www.daiichifinechem.com)."There will be no changes on day-to-day operations, save for increasedefficiency in our business."

Daiichi Fine Chemicals sells fine chemicals and vitamins, andrepresents other manufacturers' products through regional distributorships inNorth America. The U.S. fine chemicals business was established as a division ofDaiichi Pharmaceutical Co. in 1991; in 1995, it was incorporated into a whollyowned, independent subsidiary. Daiichi Pharmaceutical employs more than 5,000people worldwide and has annual sales of nearly $3 billion.