KYORIN and Eisai Sign License Agreement for Development and Marketing of Uritos® Tablets in China, India, Sri Lanka and ASEAN Countries

KYORIN Co., Ltd.
Eisai Co., Ltd.

KYORIN Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President and CEO: Keiji Hirai, “KYORIN”), a subsidiary of KYORIN Co., Ltd., and Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President and CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) announced today the conclusion of a license agreement for Uritos® Tablets (generic name: imidafenacin), a therapeutic agent for overactive bladder, discovered and developed by KYORIN. Under the terms of this agreement, KYORIN shall grant Eisai the exclusive rights to develop and market the agent in China, India, Sri Lanka and ASEAN countries (“licensed territory”).

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a urological condition with trouble in pooling urine in the bladder. Its predominant symptom is an urge to urinate, which is often accompanied by frequent urination and nocturia, and in some cases by urge urinary incontinence. One of the major problems of OAB is the fact that patients refrain from leaving the house due to anxiety about going to the bathroom, cannot get enough sleep at night, or face limitations in their daily activities, which could lead to significantly-reduced quality of life.

Anticholinergic agents that show antagonistic effects mainly on muscarinic receptor are thought to be effective in treating OAB. However, their continuous use may be limited due to the side effects such as dry mouth associated with their pharmacological effects. Uritos® Tablets is a new anticholinergic agent that exerts selective antagonistic effects on M3 and M1 muscarinic subtype receptors and alleviates the urge to urinate, frequent urination and urge urinary incontinence associated with OAB. The agent is highly selective for bladder, which leads to relatively low incidence of dry mouth, which is expected to contribute to improving quality of life of patients. It has been available in Japanese market since June 2007.

KYORIN has been making a contribution to improving the quality of life of patients with OAB through early penetration of the agent into the Japanese market. With the conclusion of this agreement, the company will now work with Eisai to make the agent available in the licensed territory and promote the expansion of its business internationally.

Eisai is making efforts to determine and meet the diversified needs of each market in the licensed territory, and will continue to actively expand and enrich its strategic product portfolio that matches the needs of the region.

The conclusion of this agreement will enable KYORIN and Eisai to make further contributions to improving the quality of life and increasing benefits to patients with OAB in Asia.

The companies expect the impact that the conclusion of this agreement on consolidated financial forecasts for the fiscal year ending March 31 2010 to be negligible.