Eisai Enters Agreement With Minophagen; Gains Asian Access to Liver Disease Products

Under the shadow of Eisai’s recent, massive “Dramatic Leap Plan” acquisitions, the company acquires the Asian development and marketing rights for Minophagen Pharmaceutical’s Stronger Neo-Minophagen C and Glycyron products.

Eisai gains the rights for the abnormal hepatic function products in Japan, Russia, Australia, and 15 other countries where the product is not currently sold, as well as exclusive marketing rights in China following the termination of Minophagen’s current contract, expected in April 2009. The company also gains exclusive first-negotiation rights for South Korea, India and five other countries where the products are currently sold.

The announcement came just a week following Eisai’s $3.9 billion purchase of MGI Pharma, which capped two years of several oncology-oriented acquisitions as part of Eisai’s Dramatic Leap Plan, which has a strong focus on integrative oncology (PharmAsia News, Dec. 11, 2007).

Eisai told PharmAsia News that the Minophagen agreement is “in line with Eisai’s Dramatic Leap Plan to achieve the net sale in the Asia region to ¥60 billion ($527 million) and compound annual growth of 23 percent in fiscal 2011.”

According to Eisai, Torii Pharmaceutical, the current marketing partner of Stronger Neo-Minophagen, expects fiscal 2007 net sales to be about ¥4.44 billion ($38.6 million) in Japan, which is down from fiscal 2006 Japanese sales of ¥5 billion ($43.9 million).

Fiscal 2006 Japanese sales of Glycyron were ¥1.4 billion ($12.3 million). The combined fiscal 2006 sales totals of both products in China were ¥3.8 billion ($33.3 million), and the combined total in other Asian markets was ¥3.77 billion ($33.1 million), according to Eisai.
Both products’ active ingredient is monoammonium glycyrrhizin, an extract of a component in the roots of licorice plants.

Eisai is coupling the acquired products with clevudine, an antiviral agent for viral hepatitis B that the company obtained through an agreement with Seoul-based Bukwang Pharm. The company told PharmAsia News they expect to submit a filing for clevudine by the end of this year.

Further advancing its Dramatic Leap Plan, Eisai broke ground on an API and dosage form manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh, India, and expects to start manufacturing in 2010.

– Daniel Poppy (d.poppy@elsevier.com)

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