Print(PDF/140KB) Sep. 06, 2017 Licensing

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and Maruishi Pharmaceutical concluded a license agreement for an Antiemetic Candidate Compound

Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President: Masayo Tada) and Maruishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Osaka, Japan; President: Keiichi Inoue) announced today that the Companies have concluded a license agreement relating to exclusive development, manufacture, marketing, etc. for a fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor, which was created by Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma and is currently at the non-clinical stage, for nausea and vomiting in Japan and the United States.

Under the terms of the agreement, Maruishi Pharmaceutical will make an upfront and development milestone payments to Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma. Furthermore, after the launch, Maruishi Pharmaceutical will also make royalty payments based on sales, and commercial milestones payments based on achievement of sales goals.

The inhibitor is a compound that was created through the drug discovery activities of Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma in the psychiatry and neurology area. Conclusion of this agreement developed from Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma's call for new therapeutic indications to be explored for the FAAH inhibitor at the Partnership to Realize Innovative Seeds and Medicines (PRISM), its open innovation program conducted in 2015.

Through this licensing partnership with Maruishi Pharmaceutical, which has strengths in the perioperative area, Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma is hoping that the inhibitor will be developed and marketed as an antiemetic, and thereby make a contribution to medicine.

Maruishi Pharmaceutical has acquired the opportunity to develop a new compound through the licensing partnership with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, which possesses sophisticated drug discovery technology. The inhibitor is anticipated to become a new option for improvement of quality of life (QOL) in the perioperative area.

 

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About the fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) inhibitor

Being expressed in neurons, FAAH is a major hydrolase of anandamide, which is a type of endocannabinoid*, and it plays an important role in neural activity. The FAAH inhibitor reduces degradation of anandamide and other endocannabinoids. The endocannabinoids activate the signal transduction pathway of CB1 receptors, a type of cannabinoid receptors. As a result, the inhibitor is expected to have an antiemetic action.

*Endocannabinoid: Collective term for endogenous substances that exhibit binding activity toward cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2 receptors). The signal transduction pathway through CB1 receptors, which is active mainly in the nervous system, is known to have a multifaceted action including antiemetic, analgesic, and neuroprotective effects.

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