Daiichi Sankyo and UCB sign agreement for Vimpat in Japan

Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) and Belgian drugmaker UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) have entered into an agreement to jointly commercialize Vimpat (lacosamide) for epilepsy patients in Japan.

Under the terms of the agreement, UCB will manufacture and supply the product for commercialization. Daiichi Sankyo will manage the distribution and book sales, with both Daiichi Sankyo and UCB commercializing lacosamide in Japan. Subject to achievement of certain milestones in the future, UCB will receive from Daiichi Sankyo up to a total of around 180 million euros ($224 million) of upfront and milestones payments during the coming years.

Jean-Christophe Tellier, chief executive-elect of UCB, said: “We continue executing on our partnering strategy for Japan to enhance patient access to our core medicines in concert with strong and patient-focused partners. We share our partner's passion for people living with epilepsy and for lacosamide, and believe that Daiichi Sankyo’s excellence and overall market presence, including specialist areas addressing epilepsy such as neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry, will enhance and broaden patients' access to new treatment options for epilepsy in Japan.”