Mitsubishi Tanabe's ALS drug approved in China

Edavarone, from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma (TYO: 4508), has been approved in China as an intravenous treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The Japanese drugmaker’s manufacture and sales subsidiary in China will market the product, which was first approved in Japan in 2015, followed by South Korea, Canada, the USA and Switzerland.

With the Chinese approval, edavarone has now been approved in six countries. Its brand name in Japan is Radicut, and in the USA it is branded as Radicava. In May, the submission in Europe was withdrawn after a demand for an additional long-term study.