Daiichi Sankyo launches blood thinner Efient in Japan

Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) said this morning that it has launched its anti-blood clotting drug Efient (prasugrel HCl) 3.75mg/5mg tablets in Japan. This follows the approval of the drug on May 24 and National Health Insurance (NHI) listing of May 23, the company noted.

Efient is an oral antiplatelet agent discovered by Daiichi Sankyo and its Japanese research partner, Ube Industries. A regulatory filing for approval in Japan was made last summer (The Pharma Letter June 18, 2013). The results of Phase III clinical trials in Japanese patients with ischemic heart disease undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) demonstrated that Efient reduces the incidence of ischemic events from the perioperative period of PCI by rapidly reducing platelet aggregation activity.

Based on co-development of the agent outside of Japan by Daiichi Sankyo and partner US drug major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), the European Commission and the US Food and Drug Administration granted marketing authorization for Efient/Effient for the prevention of atherothrombotic events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing PCI, in combination with aspirin, in 2009. To date, prasugrel has been approved in more than 70 countries worldwide.