Kowa and Daiichi Sankyo to end joint marketing partnership in Japan

7 April 2013

Privately-held Japanese drugmaker Kowa and pharma major Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) say they will be ending their joint marketing partnership for sales of Livalo (pitavastatin calcium) tablets, a cholesterol-lowering agent, and Olmetec (olmesartan medoxomil) tablets, an antihypertensive agent, as of June 30, 2013.

Just a few days earlier, Daiichi Sankyo returned worldwide rights for the development and commercialization of compounds covered under its AKT collaboration with loss-making US drug developer ArQule (Nasdaq: ARQL), including the lead compound emerging from this collaboration, ARQ 092 (The Pharma Letter April 3).

Livalo was developed by Kowa and have been marketed jointly by Daiichi Sankyo and Kowa in Japan since their launch in September 2003. In the USA, the drug is partnered with Eli Lilly. Daiichi Sankyo developed Olmetec tablets and has marketed the drug jointly with Kowa since its launch in May 2004.

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