Nippon Zoki licenses renal product to Hyundai
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
The Japanese firm Nippon Zoki has licensed its renal protective agent NZ-419 to Hyundai Pharmaceuticals for exclusive development and marketing in South Korea. Hyundai plans to begin local clinical trials in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients next year and to launch the product in 2014. NZ-419 acts to remove damaging hydroxyl active radicals to slow or prevent deterioration in kidney function and delay the need for maintenance dialysis. Nippon Zoki noted that around 5% of adult CKD patients are at high risk of end-stage renal disease and that there are some 1.6 million potential CKD patients in South Korea. 45,000 people in the country were on maintenance dialysis at the end of 2006. Nippon Zoki retains development and sales rights to NZ-419 in Japan, the US and Europe.