Kyowa Hakko Kirin enters into distribution agreement with Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical

“The preparation for a new-drug application for KW-2246 in Japan is one of the important steps in the international development of Orexo’s sublingual fentanyl product, in Europe launched under the brand AbstralTM. This agreement further strengthens the commitment we see from our partner Kyowa Hakko Kirin in the Japanese market.”

Orexo AB (STO:ORX) announces today that its partner Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. has entered a joint distribution agreement for the cancer pain drug KW-2246 (Orexo’s sublingual fentanyl product) with the pharmaceutical company Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc.

Kyowa Hakko Kirin is responsible for the approval process for the product in Japan and under the terms of the agreement, KW-2246 will be jointly distributed by the two companies once the manufacturing and sales approval is obtained. Each company will carry out independent product distribution and information provision/gathering activities under a one-brand, two-channel setup.

Commenting on the announcement, Torbjörn Bjerke, Orexo’s President and CEO, said: “The preparation for a new-drug application for KW-2246 in Japan is one of the important steps in the international development of Orexo’s sublingual fentanyl product, in Europe launched under the brand AbstralTM. This agreement further strengthens the commitment we see from our partner Kyowa Hakko Kirin in the Japanese market.”