Daiichi Sankyo to expand diabetes deal with Mitsubishi Tanabe

Japanese drug majors Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (TYO: 4508) and Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) have agreed to expand their strategic alliance in the field of diabetes and have entered into a marketing alliance agreement for MT-2412, a combination drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and for which an application has already been filed in Japan.

Based on this agreement, Daiichi Sankyo will market MT-2412 after the receipt of manufacturing and marketing approval by Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, while both companies will co-promote it.

MT-2412 is a combination drug consisting of Tenelia (teneligliptin), and Canaglu (canagliflozin). Both drugs have been prescribed to many patients in Japan and have been increasingly used, not only respectively as single agents, but also in drug combinations. Both companies expect that combining the two drugs into a single agent will enhance convenience and improve medication adherence for patients already on combination regimens, as well as for potential patients for whom combination regimens are being considered.