E7040 is a hydrophilic microspherical particle produced from a polyvinyl alcohol polymer.
Eisai said that E7040 is an embolic bead that is injected through a catheter to physically and selectively embolize targeted blood vessels.
E7040 was developed by Biocompatibles International and is currently marketed in more than 40 countries worldwide, mainly in Europe and the US, as an effective embolization material intended for the purpose of embolizing HCC and a variety of other malignant hypervascularized tumors (brand name in Europe: DC Bead, brand name in the U.S.: LC Bead).
Eisai acquired the exclusive rights to develop and market the product in Japan in a licensing agreement it concluded with Biocompatibles in July 2009.