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Aug. 4, 2005

Nissan Chemical Industries and Teijin Pharma Announce Co-development of Novel Compound

Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd.
Teijin Pharma Limited

  Nissan Chemical Industries, Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Nobuichiro Fujimoto, "Nissan Chemical Industries") and Teijin Pharma Limited (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Shigeo Ohyagi, "Teijin Pharma") have reached a basic agreement to jointly develop a novel clinical candidate for the treatment of atrial fibrillation/flutter. The companies have entered into discussion about the detailed conditions of the collaborative project.
  Nissan Chemical Industries has for a number of years been committed to creating clinical candidates employing its proprietary fine organic-chemical synthesis technologies. It has to date taken to the market an anti-inflammatory drug, a calcium antagonist and a cholesterol-lowering drug positioned as a super statin. The basic agreement with Teijin Pharma will lend momentum to these efforts, accelerating the development of a clinical candidate.
  Teijin Pharma, medical and pharmaceuticals business subsidiary of Teijin, focuses on the three key therapeutic areas: respiratory, bone/joint, and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases. In the cardiovascular/metabolic diseases area in particular, Teijin Pharma is trying to enhance its presence with in-licensing products, effective co-developments, and in-house R&D activities. Given its excellent synergy with the application of home oxygen therapy (HOT) to heart failure approved in 2004 and with an anti-heart failure drug for which the phase I clinical trial is currently in progress in Japan, the clinical candidate is set to make significant contribution to expanding the product pipeline.
  The details of the agreement are as follows.

1. Summary of Basic Agreement
  Under the basic agreement, Nissan Chemical Industries will obtain an initial payment for the conclusion of the agreement, milestone payments according to the progress of development and royalties appropriate to sales earned. Teijin Pharma will acquire the right to participate in the joint development as well as exclusive rights for formulation and marketing in Japan. The active pharmaceutical ingredient will be manufactured and supplied by Nissan Chemical Industries.
  For commercialization overseas, the two companies are set to enter into talks after the clinical proof of concept (POC)* is established.

*	Proof of concept (POC): verification of the preliminary clinical efficacy of a new drug at the development stage

2. Clinical Candidate
The clinical candidate to be jointly developed is a substance that has a new mechanism that inhibits atrial fibrillation. Acting selectively on atrium, it is expected to have a minor impact on the ventricles. If its efficacy and safety are confirmed, it will be an innovative drug that may completely rewrite the existing approach to atrial fibrillation treatment.

3. Market Needs

(1)

Approximately 1,250,000 people in Japan and some 2,200,000 people in the United States suffer from atrial fibrillation. Incidence is reported to rise with aging and it is said that about 5 percent of the elderly population aged 65 and older experience some symptoms of atrial fibrillation. The number of people experiencing atrial fibrillation is expected to rise, given the forecast growth in the population of elderly.

(2)

Currently, treatment for fibrillation uses antiarrhythmic drugs that have the effect of bringing irregular atrial contraction closer to the normal state. Generally, they act on both the atrium and the ventricle. These drugs do, however, have some negative side effects, including QT prolongation (an abnormality appearing in electrocardiograms), proarrhythmia and other negative repercussions for the ventricle as well as deterioration in heart function. Consequently, there is a need for a drug with high efficacy and safety that will eliminate these problems.

4. Atrial Fibrillation

(1)	An atrium is a pump that efficiently dispatches blood to ventricle. In its normal state, it regularly contracts in sync with the heart rate at a pace of 50 to 100 beats per minute. In a state of atrial fibrillation, it irregularly contracts 400 to 600 beats per minute and is unable to fulfill its role of sending blood to the ventricle.
(2)	Atrial fibrillation forms blood clots. These clots are conveyed throughout the body by the bloodstream. This problem is the most common cause of embolism, especially cerebral embolism. Moreover, some experts believe that it is associated with increased risk of cardiac mortality and heart failure.

5. Future development plan
The phase I clinical trial is scheduled to commence in 2007.

Information in the press releases is current on the date of the announcement.
It is subject to change without prior notice.

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