June 6, 2012
Kowa Company, Ltd.
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
Launch of Pitavastatin Calcium, a Hypercholesterolemia Treatment Agent, in Taiwan
Kowa Company, Ltd. (Nagoya, President & CEO: Yoshihiro Miwa, hereinafter “Kowa”) and
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (Osaka, President: Michihiro Tsuchiya, hereinafter“Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma”) announced today that a consolidated subsidiary of Mitsubishi
Tanabe Pharma, Tai Tien Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Taipei, Taiwan), started marketingpitavastatin calcium (generic name, brand name in Japan: Livalo Tablets), ahypercholesterolemia treatment agent, in Taiwan on June 1, 2012, according to the agreements
on exclusive development and commercialization licenses for the drug between Kowa and Tai
Tien Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.
Pitavastatin, whose raw material is created and manufactured by Nissan Chemical Industries,
Ltd., is commercialized (development, manufacture, marketing and alliance) globally andexclusively by Kowa. As a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor that exhibits strong LDLcholesterol lowering action. Pitavastatin is positioned as a strong statin, and due to many
findings, apart from that excellent effect of dyslipidemia improvement, other characteristics
such as safety in long-term use, decreases in the occurrence of drug-drug interactions andusefulness when patients have diabetes complication have also been confirmed. Kowa
obtained manufacturing approval in Japan in July, 2003 and sales of the drug started in
September of the same year. Sales of Livalo Tablets in 2010 in Japan reached ¥45 billion.
Kowa is proactively promoting the overseas development and commercialization of drugs,
aiming at the global expansion of its pharmaceutical business centered on pitavastatin. So far,Kowa has commenced sales of the drug in many countries including the U.S. and China throughother business partners, and commenced sales in Spain, as the first launch in Europe, in May
2011, and in Mexico, as the first launch in the Central & South America, in February of this year.
Pitavastatin is marketed in 11 overseas countries including Taiwan. Kowa will promote theglobal expansion of pitavastatin covering 5 continents within this year.
Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma is currently working on the promotion of overseas
business expansion. In the U.S. and Europe, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma is conducting in-housepromotion such as premarketing and establishing sales system for kidney disease treatment,
while in Asian countries; it works to rapidly launch new products and to strengthen operatingbasis through its subsidiaries in each country. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma expects early
penetration of pitavastatin in Taiwanese market and maximization of the sales through theexcellent marketing capabilities of Tai Tien Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. and the strong synergies
with their good performance, experience of existing drugs in the cardiovascular area.
Through this alliance, the companies will continue to work for maximization of the pitavastatin
business as well as strengthening their business expansions in Asia, a promising market in theworld.

[Reference] Pitavastatin global development
Country orregion name

StatusLaunch (schedule)Japan

Launched

September 2003

Korea

Launched

July 2005

Kowa Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.
Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited
Choongwae Pharma Corporation

ThailandLaunched

January 2008

Biopharm Chemical Co., Ltd.

China

Launched

July 2009*1USA

Launched

June 2010*2SpainLaunched

May 2011

Recordati, Esteve

Portugal

Launched

June 2011

Recordati, DeltaEurope

*3

2012

KPE, Recordati

LebanonMarch 2011

Algorithm

2013

Algorithm

MexicoLaunched
Preparing theapplication
Launched

February 2012

Eli Lilly & Co.

Indonesia

Launched

May 2012

P.T. Tanabe Indonesia

TaiwanCentral &SouthAmerica
Australia

Launched

June 2012

Tai Tien Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.

Application filed

2012

Eli Lilly & Co.

Approved

2012

AbbottMiddle East

Marketing partner*1 In China, Kowa is advancing the provision of information to medical institutions and doctors
on the appropriate use of pitavastatin and conducting information gathering activities
through Kowa (Shanghai) Pharma Consulting Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary ofKowa.
*2 In the United States, Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. (Alabama, USA), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Kowa, sells and markets pitavastatin with a co-promotion partner, Eli Lilly(Indiana, USA).
*3 Development in Europe
Approved
Ireland, U.K., Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Belgium,
Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Austria, Poland
Application filed
Italy

Kowa Company, Ltd.
Public Relations Department 2TEL：+81-3-3279-7392

Media inquiry
Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation
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