°®¶¹´«Ã½

Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
°®¶¹´«Ã½.

Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Matsumoto City, Nagano, President & CEO: Mutsuo Kanzawa; hereinafter referred to as “Kissei”) and °®¶¹´«Ã½. (Headquarters: Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, President & CEO: Haruo Naito; hereinafter referred to as “Eisai”) announced the conclusion of a license agreement for Glufast® (tablets, generic name: mitiglinide calcium hydrate), a rapid-acting insulin secretagogue originally created and developed by Kissei. In this agreement, Eisai gained the exclusive development and commercialization rights of Glufast® in a total of 10 ASEAN countries from Kissei.

Glufast® is a rapid-acting insulin secretagogue originally created and developed by Kissei and has been marketed in Japan since 2004 with an indication for “improvement of post-meal blood glucose levels in type Ⅱ diabetic patients.” The drug lowers increased post-meal blood glucose levels by improving insulin secretion close to a natural pattern with a faster onset of action than sulfonylurea insulin secretion stimulants (SU drugs). Furthermore, compared with SU drugs, Glufast® rarely induces hypoglycaemia because of its short duration of action.

Kissei is developing in-house products including Glufast® and Urief®, a drug for improvement of dysuria, globally through out-licensing. In foreign countries, Glufast® has been marketed in South Korea and is in development in other regions including North, Central and South America, India and the Middle East by licensing out its development and commercialization rights to other companies. In addition to these regions, this strategic alliance with Eisai in ASEAN countries is expected to contribute to the improvement of health and healthcare for people worldwide including ASEAN region.

Eisai is actively developing new business in ASEAN countries with global products including Aricept®, the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and a proton pump inhibitor Pariet®, together with in-licensing products from its business partners. In particular, Eisai has a strong marketing infrastructure established with the peripheral neuropathy treatment Methycobal® in the area of diabetes and other metabolic disorders. The company anticipates that the addition of Glufast® in the product lineup will enhance synergy and lead to supporting more patients in ASEAN countries.

With this alliance, Kissei and Eisai are targeting to launch Glufast® in the market as early as possible in the 10 ASEAN countries and to further improve the value for patients in this region.