Gilead and Eisai ink pact on co-promotion of filgotinib

US biotech major Gilead Sciences’ (Nasdaq: GILD) Japanese subsidiary and Eisai (TYO: 4523) have entered into an agreement for the distribution and co-promotion of filgotinib, an investigational, oral, selective JAK1 inhibitor, in Japan, pending regulatory approval for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Through this collaboration, Gilead Japan will retain responsibility for manufacturing and marketing approval of filgotinib, while Eisai will be responsible for product distribution in Japan in RA and other potential future indications. The companies will jointly commercialize the medicine if approved.

Approximately 600,000 to 1 million people are living with RA across Japan, and despite available options, many still do not experience disease remission. In the global Phase III FINCH studies, filgotinib demonstrated durable efficacy and safety results across multiple RA patient populations, including in people with prior inadequate response to methotrexate treatment (MTX), those who were intolerant to one or more biologic treatments and those who were MTX treatment-naïve.