Tokyo, Japan / Florence, Italy, April 11, 2012 --- Teijin Pharma Limited, the core company of the Teijin Group’s healthcare business, and the Menarini Group, Italy’s leading pharmaceutical company, announced today that they have signed an exclusive distributorship agreement for the marketing of febuxostat, a novel drug developed by Teijin Pharma for the treatment of hyperuricemia and gout, in Central and South America, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and Oceania.
Menarini has been marketing febuxostat as Adenuric® in Europe since March 2010 under marketing rights granted by licensee Ipsen. The new agreement gives Menarini exclusive marketing rights to febuxostat in an additional 26 countries: 16 Central and South American countries including Brazil and Argentina; eight CIS countries; and Australia and New Zealand. Commercial launches in these new markets are expected in 2014 onward. This agreement has extended Teijin Pharma’s global alliances for febuxostat to now total 117 countries, covering all major markets worldwide.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement with Menarini to market febuxostat in the promising markets of Central and South America, CIS and Oceania,” said Kentaro Arao, president of Teijin Pharma. “We believe that this agreement with Menarini, which has a proven track record with febuxostat in Europe, will lead to a significant expansion of our overseas business.”
“Thanks to this new distribution agreement” said Alberto Giovanni Aleotti, Member of the Board of Menarini Group, “Menarini will be able to offer a valid therapeutic option for the increasing high number of patients suffering from gout. Menarini has been distributing febuxostat for a number of years and, through global alliances of this kind, a greater number of physicians and patients in every continent will have access to this innovative product.”
About febuxostat
Discovered by Teijin Pharma, febuxostat is the world’s first non-purine selective inhibitor of xanthine oxidase. It has a novel chemical structure completely different from that of allopurinol, which has been used for over 40 years as the standard treatment for hyperuricemia and gout. Taken once daily, febuxostat effectively reduces the level of uric acid in the blood of patients to the recommended level, and is well tolerated without need for dose adjustment in patients suffering from mild to moderate renal impairment.
About Teijin Pharma’s Global Market Expansion for febuxostat
Teijin Pharma has positioned febuxostat as a globally strategic product and expects to achieve annual global sales of over 100 billion yen in the foreseeable future. Febuxostat has been marketed by licensees in the U.S., Canada, 15 European countries and Korea since March 2009. In Japan, Teijin Pharma launched the drug in May 2011. Elsewhere, approvals have been obtained in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and collaborative arrangements have been formed with licensees in markets such as China, Turkey, Mexico and various counties of the Caribbean, and Middle East and North African (MENA) regions.
About the Teijin Group
Teijin (TSE 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and over 17,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide. It posted consolidated sales of JPY 815.7 billion (USD 9.9 billion) and total assets of JPY 761.5 billion (USD9.3 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2011. Please visit www.teijin.co.jp/english.
About Menarini
Menarini is an international pharmaceutical company which, with a 2011 consolidated worldwide turnover of more than 3 billion Euro, ranks 15th in Europe and 34th world-wide*.
Menarini’s territorial presence covers more than 100 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America, with a headcount of more than 13,000. Menarini was founded 125 years ago and currently markets products for the most important therapeutic fields: respiratory, cardiovascular, gastroenterology, oncology, metabolism, antibiotics, diabetes, anti-inflammatories and analgesics. The Menarini Group has always pursued two strategic objectives: Research and Internationalisation, both of which have allowed them to achieve outstanding results in today’s global market and invest in the research of innovative drugs, making them available to patients all around the world.
For further information please consult www.menarini.com
*Sources: IMS World Review 2010
Press Contact
Rie Mashiba
Public Relations Office
Teijin Limited
+81 3 3506 4055
pr@teijin.co.jp
Menarini Press Office
Valeria Speroni Cardi
+39 055 5680 1
pressoffice@menarini.com
