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Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd. (President: Tadashi Hirata) is pleased to announce that its independently developed antiallergic agent, Allelock (generic name: olopatadine hydrochloride), was approved in Japan by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on December 22nd, 2000.
"Olopatadine" is a new antiallergic agent for which the Company has vigorously been conducting development activities since the 1980s when its Pharmaceutical Research Institute started the screening.
Having potent and selective antihistaminic effects, olopatadine is considered to relieve various symptoms of allergy by inhibiting a wide range of factors involved in allergic reaction.
With high efficacy against skin diseases proved in clinical studies, olopatadine not only has obtained approval for the treatment of eczema, urticaria, dermatitis, and so on but also is the first to be approved as an antiallergic agent for the indication of pruritus associated with "multiform exudative erythema." The agent has also been shown to achieve a high improvement rate in the three main symptoms of allergic rhinitis (sneezing, nasal discharge, and nasal obstruction).
An increasing number of people are suffering from allergic diseases because of environmental changes and other factors, and annual sales of antiallergic agents in the dosage form of tablets are said to reach ¥ 130 to 150 billion in Japan. Pollinosis, in particular, is now so prevalent as to become a social problem, with very uncomfortable symptoms in the eyes and nose. Early preventive measures are known to play an important role in the treatment of these allergic symptoms. Blocking a wide range of allergy, "Allelock" is expected to be greatly useful in adequately relieving allergic symptoms.
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