Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Korea to market Sanofi Aventis' Lou Gehrig's drug

Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Korea said it will exclusively market Sanofi Aventis' Rilutek (ingredient: riluzole), a Lou Gehrig's disease treatment, also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in Korea.

Rilutek is the world's first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatment for ALS and is used to prolong survival or delay the need for a tracheostomy in ALS patients. Rilutek received FDA approval in 1995.

Under the accord, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Korea will have exclusive distribution rights for Rilutek in Korea. Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma expects this will allow the company to offer a broader range of treatment options for ALS patients in Korea, including Radicut (ingredient: edaravone), an ALS injection that the FDA approved in June 2016.

"Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma will be the exclusive Korean distributor of ALS oral treatment Rilutek along with ALS injectable Radicut, enabling us to provide more effective and diverse treatment options for ALS patients," Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Korea General Manager Ryu Tae-hwan said. "The synergies from the sales of both products will be capitalized on to increase patient access to ALS treatments."

Sanofi Aventis Korea's Foundation Business Unit Head Suk Sang-kyu also said, "We are pleased that Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Korea and Sanofi-Aventis Korea have established a new collaboration for the treatment of ALS."

Through this partnership, the company looks forward to continuing to provide meaningful treatments for people with ALS, Suk added.