Apr. 01, 2015

Teijin Limited

Teijin Limited announced today its agreement with Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Japanese pharmaceutical company, for the distribution rights in Japan to TT-063, an anti-inflammatory analgesic patch formulation for the anticipated indication of osteoarthritis. The agreement allows TT-063 to be co-marketed by Teijin Pharma Limited, the core company of the Teijin Group’s medical and pharmaceutical business, and Taisho Toyama Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. of the Taisho Pharmaceutical Group.

TT-063 contains the compound S-flurbiprofen, an analgesic with percutaneous permeability, which was discovered by TOKUHON Corporation, a Taisho Pharmaceutical subsidiary, and then co-developed with Taisho Pharmaceutical in Japan. Good efficacy and safety results were obtained in Phase 3 clinical trials, which were conducted by Taisho Pharmaceutical and involved 633 knee osteoarthritis patients. In October 2014, Taisho Pharmaceutical filed with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for approval to manufacture and market TT-063 for the indication of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis is a chronic degenerative joint disease caused mainly by the degeneration and abrasion of joint cartilage. It is categorized into knee osteoarthritis, lumbar spondylosis and some other types of osteoarthritis according to the affected area. In Japan, an estimated 24 million people have knee osteoarthritis and 35 million people have lumbar spondylosis, approximately 30% of whom have pain symptoms. As this pain often reduces the patient’s quality of life, there are high hopes for new patch formulations that could act as powerful anti-inflammatory analgesics.

Teijin is focusing on bone/joint diseases as one of the key therapeutic targets of its medical and pharmaceutical businesses. The company already offers medical products for joint diseases, such as Synvisc® viscosupplement for knee osteoarthritis pain, and it recently established Teijin Nakashima Medical, a joint venture for the development, manufacture and sale of joint prosthesis.

By co-marketing TT-063, Teijin Group looks forward to improving the quality of life for osteoarthritis patients

About the Teijin Group

Teijin (TSE: 3401) is a technology-driven global group offering advanced solutions in the areas of sustainable transportation, information and electronics, safety and protection, environment and energy, and healthcare. Its main fields of operation are high-performance fibers such as aramid, carbon fibers & composites, healthcare, films, resin & plastic processing, polyester fibers, products converting and IT. The group has some 150 companies and around 16,000 employees spread out over 20 countries worldwide. It posted consolidated sales of JPY784.4 billion (USD 7.7 billion) and total assets of JPY 768.4 billion (USD 7.5 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2014. Please visit www.teijin.com.

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