UCB and Daiichi Sankyo's Vimpat approved in Japan

Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo (TYO: 4568) and Belgian drugmaker UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) today announced the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has granted approval for Vimpat (lacosamide) as an adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures with or without secondary generalization in adult patients with epilepsy who have not obtained sufficient response to other antiepileptic drugs.

"Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to improving the lives of people living with epilepsy around the world and to increasing patient access to our core medicines,” explained Jean-Christophe Tellier, chief executive of UCB. “This is an example of our collaborative, patient-led and science-driven approach delivering benefits by providing additional treatment options for people living with epilepsy. We look forward to successfully launching lacosamide in Japan and continuing our partnership with Daiichi Sankyo.”

Daiichi Sankyo and UCB will partner to commercialize lacosamide in Japan, as agreed previously by both companies in 2014. Under the terms of the deal, UCB became eligible to receive around $220 million of upfront and milestones payments during the coming years. UCB will manufacture and supply the product; Daiichi Sankyo will manage distribution and book sales in Japan, with both companies promoting lacosamide in Japan.