• The diet product "Milical" is the number-one diet food product sold in pharmacies in France^*1, a country with a low obesity rate and known as "diet-advanced" country among developed nations. Milical has been enjoyed by consumers in France for more than 50 years. One uniqueness of Milical is its original "3.2.2" diet program that allows people to incorporate salads, yogurts, snacks, and their usual foods into the program while considering calories and nutrition on a weekly basis, which makes it easier for people to stay on the program. ^*2
• In Japan, obesity and a need to lose weight has become a significant health issue, and the population of overweight people has grown to 25 million. Approximately 70% of Japanese women (about 40 million) between the ages of 20 and 60 have considered a weight-reduction diet.^*3 Also, about 60% of women who start a diet are not able to follow the plan.^*4 Consequently, there is great demand for a product that will allow people to stay on their chosen diet plans easily.
• Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has been marketing the products of Nutrition & Santé (N&S) in Japan for four years. Following the launches of Gerblé in 2010 and Gerlinéa in 2011, Milical, the third N&S brand available in drug stores nationwide, will offer a new diet method together with health information. N&S, a French health and nutritional food company, has been an Otsuka group company since 2009.

Otsuka Pharmaceuticals (headquartered in Tokyo and led by Taro Iwamoto, President and CEO) will launch in Japan the diet food product Milical, which is manufactured by the French health and nutritional food company Nutrition & Santé. Milical will be available in drug stores nationwide from April 7. Multiple flavors of three types of products - soups, shakes, and bars - will be available, with a total of eight distinct product offerings.

• *1 IMS Health Slimming Nutrition July 2013 "pharmacies + parapharmacies"
• *2 "3.2.2" is a three-stage diet program based on a weekly cycle: three days, followed by two days and then another two days, which can be continued without difficulty to maintain the appropriate caloric intake.
• *3 Internet survey of women 20 to 60 years of age (n = 6,401; survey conducted July 2013)
• *4 Internet survey of women 20 to 50 years of age (n = 1,600; survey conducted May 2013)