For Immediate Release
Company name: DAIICHI SANKYO COMPANY, LIMITED
Representative: Sunao Manabe, Representative Director, President and COO
(Code no.: 4568, First Section, Tokyo Stock Exchange)
Please address inquiries to Noriaki Ishida, Executive Officer,
Vice President, Corporate Communications Department
Telephone: +81-3-6225-1126
http://www.daiichisankyo.com
Daiichi Sankyo Reports Rupture of Liquid Storage Tank at Kitamoto Facility of Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine
Tokyo, Japan (February 26, 2018) – Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited (Headquarters, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; hereafter, Daiichi Sankyo) today reported details of a rupture of a liquid storage tank at the Kitamoto facility of Daiichi Sankyo’s subsidiary, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo Vaccine Co., Ltd. (hereafter, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo). The rupture occurred at 9:47 pm on Sunday, February 25. Daiichi Sankyo sincerely apologizes to people in the area as well as other concerned parties for any trouble or worry the incident may have caused.
No fire or injuries resulted from the aforementioned incident; moreover, as the result of its investigation, Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo’s Pathogen Safety Management Committee determined today that no pathogen leakage had resulted from the incident. The Kitamoto facility is currently operating normally.
Daiichi Sankyo will investigate the incident’s cause, draw up measures to prevent recurrence, and implement them thoroughly. We will also make efforts to restore the trust of everyone concerned.
Further details of the incident and the current situation are reported as follows.
1. Date and time of incident
Sunday, February 25, 2018; 9:47 pm
2. Details of incident
There was a rupture of a liquid storage tank installed outside Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo’s building A which resulted in damage to the outside wall of the factory. It was promptly confirmed that there was no fire or injuries as a result.
3. Cause of rupture
It is assumed that heating steam caused an abnormal rise in pressure inside the tank. The cause of the abnormal rise in pressure is under investigation.
4. Details of damage
Owing to the rupture of the liquid storage tank, the outside wall of Kitasato Daiichi Sankyo’s factory building was damaged. The liquid storage tank did not contain any bacteria or viruses, and as the factory building is not being used for production at present, no environmental pollution has resulted from the incident.
5. Measures to prevent recurrence
The incident will be investigated by local police and fire departments, and internally by Daiichi Sankyo. Once the cause has been determined, specific recurrence prevention measures will be drawn up and implemented. The recurrence prevention measures will also be thoroughly applied to similar equipment.