Japanese pharmacy giant enters PH through AC Health

Filipinos will soon find Japanese wellness and pharmacy brands in their neighborhood drugstores as Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) partners with Sugi Holdings, one of Japan’s largest chains.

Through AC Health Pharma, the Ayala-led healthcare arm has sealed a strategic partnership with Sugi to introduce its house brands and wellness products across more than 800 branches of Generika Drugstore and St. Joseph Drug nationwide.

AC Health President and CEO Paolo Borromeo said Friday that the tie-up, which marks Sugi’s first venture into the Philippine market, goes beyond distribution.
“Our partnership with Sugi Holdings reflects a shared ambition to make high-quality healthcare products more accessible to Filipino families. As we continue to build a comprehensive health ecosystem, collaborations like this enable us to offer more trusted options and deliver better health outcomes across the country,” Borromeo said.

Sugi Holdings operates about 2,300 stores in Japan under the Sugi Pharmacy brand and has expanded to Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia. It is now bringing that model to the Philippines.

“We feel truly fortunate to have met a partner here that we can trust from the bottom of our hearts,” said Tsuyoshi Yamamoto, director and CEO of S. Trading, Sugi’s overseas trading arm.

“With AC Health, I honestly believe we have found the best partners in the Philippines because we want people to enjoy our high quality and affordable Japanese products.”

Earlier this month, AC Health announced plans to sell a 16 percent stake to Singapore-based ABC Impact, a Temasek Trust-backed investor making its first foray into the Philippine healthcare sector.

Proceeds, which AC Health did not disclose, will support expansion of its hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies through both organic growth and acquisitions. The company targets 10 hospitals, 300 clinics, and 1,150 pharmacies by 2027.

AC Health has also teamed up with Indonesia’s Dexa Group to expand access to affordable medicines through Generika and St. Joseph Drug stores, Healthway hospitals, and its import arm IE Medica.