ProStrakan rebrands as Kyowa Kirin International PLC

Scotland-based specialty pharmaceutical company, ProStrakan, has announced that it is rebranding as Kyowa Kirin.

ProStrakan was acquired by Tokyo-based Kyowa Hakko Kirin (KHK) in 2011 and the Japanese company has decided that, in order to present a consistent image across the world, all of its western pharmaceutical subsidiaries are to adopt the Kyowa Kirin name. ProStrakan’s Galashiels headquartered business will trade as Kyowa Kirin International PLC with its various country affiliates adopting the Kyowa Kirin name into their local company titles.

Aside from the name change itself, the move will have no impact on the business, which operates across Europe and the United States of America.

Commenting on the rebrand, Dr Tom Stratford, Chief Executive of Kyowa Kirin International, said: “KHK’s ambition is to grow a global pharmaceuticals business. The business is entering an exciting launch phase for its pipeline of near-to-market products and this is a logical time for the company to unify all of its operating companies under the Kyowa Kirin name across Asia, Europe and the US.

“We are proud of our heritage as ProStrakan and of the part we play in the KHK group. We plan to adopt the Kyowa Kirin identity over the course of 2016 and I am confident that we will continue to play a significant role in the Scottish life sciences sector and in our markets across Europe and the US.”

Kyowa Kirin International, headquartered in Galashiels, is a rapidly growing specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development and commercialisation of prescription medicines for the treatment of unmet therapeutic needs in major markets. Sales and marketing of its portfolio of products are handled by commercial subsidiaries in the UK, US, France, Germany, Spain,Italy and other EU countries.