Eisai, Daiichi Sankyo In U.S. Battle Over Aricept Generics
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Major Japanese drugmakers Daiichi Sankyo and Eisai are engaged in a battle in the United States over a new market for both companies generic drugs. Daiichi Sankyo's Indian unit, Ranbaxy Laboratories, has six-month U.S. exclusivity for a generic version of Eisai's blockbuster Aricept (donepezil) for treating Alzheimer's disease. To counter that competition, Eisai granted U.S.-based Pfizer's Greenstone unit the right to sell its own generic in exchange for royalty payments. That portion of projected Aricept sales is expected to reach $200 million before late May when Ranbaxy's exclusivity expires. (Click here for more - a subscription may be required