Exclusive licensing agreement with Eisai
Grupo Biotoscana and EISAI sign exclusive licensing agreement for four novel oncology and neurology products in Latin America.
Montevideo, Uruguay, October 3, 2017. GBT-Grupo Biotoscana (B3: GBIO33), a leading biopharmaceutical company in Latin America, today announced that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Eisai Inc., the U.S. pharmaceutical subsidiary of Tokyo, Japan-based Eisai Co., Ltd., to commercialize HALAVEN® (eribulin mesylate), LENVIMA® (lenvatinib), FYCOMPA® (perampanel) and INOVELON® (rufinamide) throughout Latin America, including Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. However, Eisai will retain the rights to Halaven and Lenvima in Mexico, and will seek to continue to build upon the growth of its oncology business in this country.
Under the new agreement, GBT will be responsible for marketing authorizations, market access, commercialization, distribution throughout Latin America.
“We are honored to be partnering with Eisai, one of the leading research-based companies in the world, in order to help expand the usage of Halaven, Lenvima, Fycompa and Inovelon, four compounds that bring new hope for patients with debilitating diseases in Latin America,” said Mariano García-Valiño, CEO of Grupo Biotoscana. “We are also excited to continue building on the success of Halaven and Lenvima in Brazil, as well as to expand the reach of Eisai’s oncology and neurology products through future launches in Latin America. We believe this partnership will be key for GBT, and it reinforces our position as the partner of choice for cutting-edge medicines in Latin America.”
“We are excited to collaborate with Grupo Biotoscana, a company with an extensive reach in the Latin American market,” said Shaji Procida, President and COO of Eisai Inc. “This agreement will provide important therapeutic options for patients in need in a number of countries where they currently remain unavailable.”
About GBT
GBT-Grupo Biotoscana (GBT) is a biopharmaceutical group that operates in the fast-growing Latin American region and focuses on rapidly growing market segments such as infectious diseases, oncology and onco-hematology, special treatments, immunology and inflammation and orphan/rare diseases, among others. GBT is currently present throughout 10 Latin American countries where it operates under its companies Biotoscana, United Medical and LKM. GBT’s strong portfolio combines world-class licenses and proprietary products. To find out more about Grupo Biotoscana, please go to www.grupobiotoscana.com.
About HALAVEN
HALAVEN® (eribulin) is a synthetic derivative of halichondrin B, a natural marine product derived from the sea sponge Halichondria okadai. It is a new anticancer treatment that acts against tumors by suppressing the growth of microtubules by blocking the polymerization of tubulin, a structural component of microtubules, thereby impeding cellular mitosis. Currently approved in more than 60 countries and territories worldwide for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and advanced liposarcoma.
About LENVIMA
LENVIMA® (lenvatinib) is a novel multiple receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (orally administered molecular-targeted agent) discovered and developed by Eisai. Launched as a treatment for refractory thyroid cancer in the United States, Japan and Europe in 2015 and has been granted orphan drug status (a drug for rare diseases) for the treatment of thyroid cancer by the regulatory authorities in each of these regions. LENVIMA is also indicated to treat adults with a form of advanced kidney cancer.
About FYCOMPA
FYCOMPA® (perampanel) is an antiepileptic agent. Believed to exert its antiepileptic effect by selectively antagonizing AMPA receptors, which are a type of neuroreceptor that binds with neurotransmitter glutamic acid, thus preventing excess influx of calcium into cells and suppressing the aggravation of excited nerve cells.
About INOVELON
INOVELON® (rufinamide) is an antiepileptic agent created by Novartis that possesses novel triazole derivative structure and extensive anticonvulsant effects. It is marketed in Europe, the United States and Japan as an adjunctive therapy for Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS), one of the most severe and intractable forms of childhood-onset epilepsy. It is sold under the name BANZEL® in the United States and Canada.