April 16, 2024 – Bushu Pharma (Kawagoe City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan) is pleased to announce the launch of a new broad-based employee ownership program whereby all 1,330 employees of Bushu Pharma across its five sites in Japan will be eligible to benefit in the company’s growth, with support from its shareholder, global investment firm KKR. This is believed to be the first time a Japanese company backed by a private financial sponsor has offered broad-based ownership to all of its employees.

The innovative program is aimed at developing an ownership culture among employees and boosting their engagement with Bushu Pharma. Current and future eligible employees will be able to participate in an ownership plan, where the amount of such grants will be based on their tenure and salary, among other factors, and is not in exchange for any wages or other benefits. In addition to the grants, the program seeks to elevate the voice of employees, support their overall well-being, and create new ways for them to participate in the continuous improvement of Bushu Pharma.

Commenting on the announcement, Tadao Takano, Representative Director, President, and CEO of Bushu Pharma, said “Bushu Pharma’s strength lies in our dedicated and trustworthy team. The launch of this comprehensive employee ownership program represents a significant milestone for our business. I am delighted that everyone in our team will be able to deepen their strong sense of ownership and share in the significant growth we expect to achieve with their help. I am grateful to KKR for bringing this unique employee ownership approach to Japan, and for their continued collaboration as strategic partners.”

Since 2011, KKR has supported portfolio companies in awarding billions of dollars of total equity value to over 100,000 employees across more than 40 companies.

Hiro Hirano, Deputy Executive Chairman of KKR Asia Pacific and CEO of KKR Japan, said, “We are pleased to expand the concept of broad-based employee ownership to Japan with Bushu Pharma. We have already seen from our work with KKR portfolio companies around the world that employee ownership can be an incredible tool for value creation and building stronger engagement with employees. We look forward to building on this milestone with Bushu Pharma by encouraging broad-based employee ownership more widely across Japan as the country looks to develop itself as a forward-looking asset management nation.”

KKR announced its investment in Bushu Pharma in December 2022 and has been working with the management team to expand into new and growing segments, invest in further capacity expansion and quality control, and explore growth opportunities to deliver more high-quality healthcare solutions to patients.

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About Bushu Pharmaceuticals Ltd.

As one of the leading contract manufacturers of pharmaceutical products in Japan, Bushu Pharma offers a broad range of optimal solutions for technology transfer, pharmaceutical production, packaging, and logistic services based on 25 years of experience and expertise as a CDMO in all phases of development, from R&D projects for pharmaceuticals such as solid dosage formulations, packaging of solid dosage forms, production and packaging of injectable solutions, and more, to marketing approval of new drugs.

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