Taiwan firm strikes Japanese prostaglandin deal
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
Taiwan Liposome Company (TLC) has linked up with the Japanese generics firm Nihon Generic for the development and marketing in Japan of a stable liposome formulation of the peripheral vasodilator prostaglandin E1 (alprostadil). The main branded version of lipo-alprostadil in Japan is co-marketed by Taisho and Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma as Palux/Liple and is forecast to have total sales of close to ¥20 billion ($185.5 million) this fiscal year. Several other companies also market alternative lipo-alprostadil preparations. TLC has developed proprietary liposome-based encapsulation technology which it says inhibits the degradation of alprostadil, and is also developing formulations in the oncology field.