Eisai Makes Strides With Cancer, Alzheimer's Drugs

Eisai announced today that its anticancer agent Halaven (eribulin mesylate) was approved by the Australian Department of Health and Aging, to treat patients with locally or advances metastatic breast cancer. This is the first product to be marketed exclusively by Eisai in Australia, the company said in its press release.

Halaven was discovered and developed by Eisai and has received approval in more than 55 countries, including Japan, the United States, and in Europe.

Breast cancer is the second most diagnosed type of cancer in the world, with 150,000 patients suffering from the disease in Australia. This number continues to increase year over year, with 15,000 new breast cancer cases being diagnosed each year. In addition, according to the report Cancer in Australia 2010: An Overview, approximately 40 percent of early breast cancer patients will develop locally advanced or metastatic disease.

In addition to making strides with its cancer portfolio, Eisai announced last month that its Phase 3 clinical trial of Aricept (donepezil hydrochloride), conducted in China, reached primary endpoints in patients with severe Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Because of the success of the research, Eisai says it will be submitting an application for approval to the regulatory authority in China by the end of fiscal 2014 to make the drug available for those with severe AD.

Lead investigator, Professor Jianping Jia of the Department of Neurology, Xuan Wu Hospital, Capital Medical University, said, “Despite the large number of patients with severe AD in China, no medicine has been proven to be effective for the indication of severe AD in a Phase 3 placebo controlled trial for Chinese patients so far. According to this study, a medical treatment based on clear evidence may be available for patients in China.”