Takeda debuts three new diabetes drugs, Nesina, Kazano and Oseni, in USA

Japan’s largest drugmaker Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4502) says that its new diabetes products Nesina (alogliptin), a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP-4i), and the fixed-dose combination therapies Kazano (alogliptin and metformin HCl) and Oseni (alogliptin and pioglitazone) are now available by prescription in pharmacies in the USA. All three drugs were approved early this by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults, as adjuncts to diet and exercise (The Pharma Letter January 28).

These new products will provide Takeda with a new revenue source as it deals with the patent expiry of its blockbuster diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone) which, in the fiscal year to March 2011, generated sales of $4.5 billion, around 27% of the firm’s total sales. However, Nesina will face fierce competition from a number of DPP-4 inhibitors already on the market, led by Merck & Co's Januvia (sitagliptin) as well as Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca’s Onglyza/ Kombiglyze (saxagliptin) and Novartis’ Galvus (vildagliptin).

Need for individualized treatments