Under the terms of the agreement, Forest will pay Daiichi Sankyo an upfront payment of $20 million. Forest will enter into a co-promotion arrangement in the US, providing an agreed minimum number of product details, and will receive an annual co-promotion payment based upon US product net sales. Daiichi Sankyo will record product sales and bear all marketing and development expenses for the product during the term of the agreement.
Daiichi Sankyo filed a new drug application in November 2006 for the fixed-dose combination of the two antihypertensives, calcium channel blocker amlodipine besylate and angiotensin receptor blocker olmesartan medoxomil. The agent is currently under regulatory review in the US by the FDA with a decision anticipated by late September.
Joseph Pieroni, president and CEO of Daiichi Sankyo, said: “Our existing arrangement with Forest on Benicar and Benicar HCT is nearing the end of its active co-promotion term. This relationship has been a very successful one for both companies, and we are pleased to begin a new arrangement with our valued partner.”
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, affects approximately 72 million people in the US and approximately one billion worldwide. The number of people with high blood pressure is expected to reach about 1.6 billion worldwide by 2025.