Mitsubishi Tanabe licenses Menarini to sell Spedra in 10 Asia-Pac countries

Japanese drugmaker Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (TYO: 4508) and the Singapore-based subsidiary of Italian pharma company Menarini have entered into a licensing agreement to commercialize and promote Spedra (avanafil).

Menarini Asia-Pacific AP will receive exclusive licensing rights from Mitsubishi Tanabe to market the erectile dysfunction drug avanafil in China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The Menarini Group has already been licensed to market this product in over 40 European countries, plus Australia and New Zealand, under a license from the drug’s originator, US drugmaker Vivus (Nasdaq: VVUS).

Spedra is a new and innovative phosphodiesterase – 5 inhibitor (PDE5-i) approved by the European Commission in June 2013 for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration approved avanafil in April 2012 for the same indication, under the trade name Stendra.