Daiichi Sankyo discusses R&D pipeline

At a press conference, held in the Japanese capital Tokyo earlier this month, pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo discussed both its drug pipeline and the ongoing development of several of its currently marketed products.

Key amongst the agents discussed was CS-747 (prasgurel), the firm's platelet aggregation inhibitor, which it is co-developing with USA-based major Eli Lilly.The agent is in the final stages of patient enrollment in a Phase III trial. The company said that, assuming that the study is concluded successfully, it intends to file the drug with regulatory authorities in both Europe and the USA by the end of 2007.

The company also said that it intends to file a New Drug Application for CS-8663, which combines olmesartan and amlodipine, with the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) by the end of 2006 and 2007, respectively. In addition, the firm reported that it has initiated Phase IIb trials of its developmental Factor Xa inhibitor, DU-176b, at sites in Japan, the USA and Europe.