Kyowa Hakko in-licenses a self-injectable product
to treat Parkinson’s disease
from Britannia Pharmaceuticals Limited in the U.K.

 On February 7, 2006, Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd. based in Tokyo, Japan (President and CEO: Dr. Yuzuru Matsuda) entered into a license agreement with Britannia Pharmaceuticals Limited, a pharmaceutical company based in Surrey, UK (Group CEO: Mr. Douglas Peffers), whereby Kyowa Hakko was granted an exclusive license to develop and sell a self-injectable formulation of apomorphine to improve motor symptoms caused by advanced Parkinson’s disease in Japan and some Asian countries.

 Under this agreement, Kyowa Hakko will engage in the clinical development of this product in Japan for future approval and marketing. At each development stage, Britannia will receive upfront and milestone payments from Kyowa Hakko.

 Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the central nervous system and known to be initiated by a shortage of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Apomorphine is a dopamine receptor agonist with a structure similar to dopamine itself and directly binds with dopamine receptors on the surface of nerve cells to relieve and improve the symptoms.

 The product is indicated for the treatment of advanced Parkinson’s disease with frequent motor fluctuations characterized by a "wearing off phenomenon", which can be described as a shortening of the response to each dose of levodopa or other conventional anti-parkinsonian medication, and/or an "on-off phenomenon", whereby patients may undergo unpredictable swings from mobility to immobility without relation to plasma drug concentrations.

 This product, being fast acting and available in the form of a pre-filled pen device, may rapidly rescue patients from the above symptoms and is expected to contribute to patient’s improved Quality of Life (QOL). The apomorphine device has already been approved in the UK, USA and other major countries where the product is marketed by local pharmaceutical companies.

 Kyowa Hakko is currently conducting phase-III clinical studies in the EU/USA and early phase-II clinical studies in Japan for KW-6002, which is an agent developed in-house for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. The apomorphine product in-licensed from Britannia will broaden Kyowa Hakko’s lineup of therapeutic agents for Parkinson’s disease so that Kyowa Hakko can make a further contribution to the treatment of central nervous system diseases.