Takeda Chemical Industries Ltd. said Thursday it has agreed with Andrx Corp. of the United States to jointly develop a drug for diabetes on the basis of their existing products for treating the disorder.
Under the agreement, the leading Japanese pharmaceutical company and the U.S. firm will join hands in developing a combination drug based on Takeda's Actos and Andrx's Fortamet, Takeda said in a news release.
According to the makers, Actos enhances the function of insulin produced by the body and is marketed in more than 60 countries, while Fortamet lowers blood sugar and is now pending approval by U.S. and European authorities.
The combination drug will be manufactured by Andrx and exclusive marketing rights will be held by Takeda, the Japanese company said.
The new drug will be targeted at Type 2 diabetes, the most common variety.
Takeda said it will be responsible for regulatory approvals for the new drug and will make an initial payment of $10 million to the U.S. partner.
Takeda said it will make additional milestone payments upon the occurrence of certain specified events, as well as a transfer price, a royalty and certain additional performance payments related to Takeda's sale of the combination product.
More than 17 million people in the United States have diabetes, mostly Type 2, according to Takeda.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, there are about 2.12 million patients being treated for diabetes in Japan and an estimated 6.9 million have the disorder.