Japanese Kowa Signs Marketing Agreement With Solvay For Pitavastatin
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
TOKYO - Kowa Pharmaceuticals Europe, a subsidiary of Japanese Kowa Company signed an agreement with Markham, Ontario-based Solvay Pharma under which Solvay will apply for Canadian government approval of Kowa's anti-cholesterol drug pitavastatin. Solvay Pharma, the Canadian subsidiary of Brussels, Belgium-based Solvay Group, will market the drug in Canada upon approval, expected as early as 2010, Kowa said. "KPE is granting Solvay exclusive rights to sell pitavastatin in Canada," Kowa spokesperson Naohisa Usui told PharmAsia News. Kowa estimates Canada's market for statin-based cholesterol drugs to be worth ¥160 billion ($1.48 billion) per year, and hopes that its product will achieve a 10 percent market share