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news.Takeda Pharmaceutical (Takeda) has entered into a co-promotion agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutical for Velcade (bortezomib) for Injection, a treatment for patients with multiple myeloma.
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Janssen Pharma had launched Velcade in Japan in 2006, where it is approved for relapsed multiple myeloma. Velcade is currently approved in more than 90 countries and has treated more than 160,000 patients worldwide. In 2009, global sales were in excess of $1bn.
The co-promotion is anticipated to begin in the second quarter of FY2010. Takeda is expected to receive a percentage of sales (based on certain conditions specified in the contract) as a co-promotion fee.
Takeda said that its oncology sales force will join with Janssen’s sales team to promote Velcade. The newly combined promotion effort will expand the share-of-voice of Velcade among practitioners who prescribe Velcade in Japan.
Deborah Dunsire, CEO of Millennium, said: “This collaboration will help maximise the potential of Velcade in a critically important market. Oncology is an area of strategic growth for Takeda, and this co-promotion is one of several recent events that underscores our commitment to this therapeutic area.”
Earlier, in April 2010, Takeda had received approval for Vectibix (panitumumab) for the treatment of advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer in Japan.
Yasuhiko Yamanaka, a member of the board and senior vice president of pharmaceutical marketing division at Takeda, said: “The co-promotion for Velcade as well as the approval of Vectibix last month strengthens our oncology franchise in the Japanese market. This enhanced effort enables our sales force to reach out to a larger group of healthcare providers in order to potentially benefit patients with multiple myeloma.”