LAUNCH OF URITOS® TABLETS FOR OVERACTIVE BLADDER IN THAILAND

Eisai Co., Ltd.
KYORIN Holdings, Inc.

Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) and KYORIN Holdings, Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President and CEO: Minoru Hogawa, “KYORIN Holdings”) announced today that Eisai's Thai subsidiary Eisai (Thailand) Marketing Co., Ltd. has launched Uritos® Tablets (generic name: imidafenacin), a therapeutic agent for overactive bladder, in Thailand.

Uritos was discovered and developed by KYORIN Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President and CEO: Mitsutomo Miyashita, “Kyorin Pharmaceutical”), a subsidiary of KYORIN Holdings who subsequently granted Eisai the exclusive rights to develop and market the agent in China, India, Sri Lanka and ASEAN countries in 2009. This marks the first launch of Uritos in a region where Eisai holds marketing rights to the agent.

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a urological condition marked by a frequent, sudden urge to urinate. It is often accompanied by frequent urination and nocturia, and in some cases by urge urinary incontinence. OAB may cause serious issues for patients' quality of life, such as becoming hesitant to go out due to the anxiety of suddenly needing to go to the toilet, or lack of sleep from constantly waking up to use the bathroom at night.

While it is known that OAB becomes more common with age, studies suggest that people with diseases of the brain or spinal cord such as stroke or Parkinson's disease as well as enlargement of the prostate are at high risk of OAB. According to the clinical guidelines for overactive bladder in Japan, the prevalence of OAB in the country ranges from 5 to 20%. Although the prevalence of OAB in Asia is unknown, it was reported that 29.9% of men and 34.7% of women aged over 18 experienced some symptoms of OAB, many of whom did not receive appropriate treatment due to lack of disease awareness¹.

Uritos is an anticholinergic agent commonly prescribed to treat OAB. It exhibits selective antagonistic effects on M3 and M1 muscarinic subtype receptors to help alleviate the urge to urinate, frequent urination and urge urinary incontinence associated with OAB. The most common side effects are thirst and constipation.

Through this launch, Eisai and Kyorin Pharmacetucial strive to improve QOL and further contribute to increasing the benefits for patients with OAB in Thailand.