- For Print
- March 14, 2008
Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President and CEO: Haruo Naito) announced today that the company submitted an application for a new oral jelly formulation of Aricept® (donepezil hydrochloride) in Japan. If approved, it will become the first Alzheimer's disease treatment available in an oral jelly formulation in the world.
Generally, Alzheimer's disease affects eldery population, and there are some patients who have difficulty swallowing a tablet or granule formulation with water due to the decline in their ability to swallow or the water enters into their trachea while taking the medication. For the patients with such problems, the new jelly formulation will make it easier to administer with the soft and jelly-like texture which can be taken without water. In addition, it can be devided with a spoon into an appropriate volume depending on the patient's ability to swallow, which reduces the burden of caregivers who help their patients take the medication.
Aricept®, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor developed by Eisai Co., Ltd., is the only approved prescription medicine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in Japan. It is believed to work by inhibiting the hydrolysis of acetylcholine, thereby increasing available levels of this neurotransmitter in the brain. It is estimated that there are approximately 1.25 million people with Alzheimer's disease in Japan, and the number is set to increase every year as the aging of the society is progressed.
In Japan, Aricept® is available in tablets, fine granule, and orally rapid disintegrating tablets. Through the addition of the new oral jelly formulation of Aricept® that helps patients adhere to taking medications appropriately, Eisai will continue to make contributions to improving the quality of life of Alzheimer's disease patients, their families and caregivers.