JAPAN'S EISAI TO TERMINATE ALZHEIMER'S DRUG DISTRIBUTION DEAL

Japanese drugmaker Eisai has announced that following the failure of discussions with distribution partner Cardinal Health, the latter company's position as distributor of record for its US product lines is to end. The leading product likely to be affected by the move, Alzheimer's therapy Aricept, will now be distributed through the Japanese company's other US distribution operations. The product is indicated for mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, and requires a daily dose.

Aricept has recently accounted for a growing share of Eisai's global sales, with revenue on the product growing 11.2% in the April-to-September Japanese financial half year, to some JPY76.3bn (US$722.8mn). Notably, growth was even stronger in the US, with sales rising by 12.3% to US$402mn despite competition from Forest Laboratories' Namenda, launched in late 2003.