Otsuka acquires certain Dacogen and E7727 rights from Eisai

Otsuka Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4768) has reached an agreement with the US subsidiary of fellow Japanese drugmaker Eisai (TYO: 4523) to acquire rights to the hematological cancer treatment Dacogen (decitabine) and to an enzyme inhibitor, E7727. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Specifically, Otsuka has acquired exclusive rights to the development and sale of DNA methylation inhibitor Dacogen, an intravenous formulation of decitabine, in the USA, Canada and Japan in addition to the licensing rights worldwide excluding Mexico. Eisai will retain the rights in Mexico. US health care giant Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE: JNJ) Janssen Pharmaceutical companies will retain worldwide development and commercialization rights (excluding the USA, Canada, Mexico and Japan).

It will also gain patent rights to metabolic enzyme inhibitor E7727, currently in preclinical development by Otsuka's US subsidiary Astex Pharmaceuticals. E7727 is in development together with decitabine to form the combination product ASTX727 (an oral hypomethylating agent), which if approved would become the first oral formulation of decitabine.