News Release

March 11, 2009
Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Toray Industries, Inc.

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: Toru Usami, hereafter "Taiho Pharmaceutical") and Toray Industries, Inc. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President: Sadayuki Sakakibara, hereafter "Toray") announced that they have started the co-development of a β3-adrenoceptor agonist "TRK-380 (Toray development No.) / TAC-301 (Taiho Pharmaceutical development No.)" for the treatment of overactive bladder.

TRK-380/TAC-301 is a compound which selectively stimulates the β3 adrenoceptors and which was discovered at the Toray Pharmaceutical Research Laboratories. Last year, Toray and Taiho Pharmaceutical signed a contract for a co-development and commercialization in Japan, and currently the project is at the stage of confirming efficacy and safety of this compound together in non-clinical animal studies. We plan to initiate phase I studies (clinical studies for verification of safety in humans) as early as possible.

Different from currently available anticholinergic drugs for the treatment of overactive bladder, in animal experiments, TRK-380/TAC-301 shows effects on relaxation of bladder smooth muscle and increases the bladder volume by stimulating the β3 adrenoreceptors which are present in the bladder and consequently increases the bladder capacity. Moreover, in animal experiments, it has been confirmed that an effective dose of TRK-380/TAC-301 is widely separated from a dose of the cardiovascular adverse reactions which are generally a concern with β3-adrenoceptor agonists. Toray and Taiho Pharmaceutical are committed to develop TRK-380/TAC-301 to contribute to improve QOL for the patients who are suffering from overactive bladder as soon as possible.

* Overactive bladder
"Overactive bladder" is a disease indicating symptoms such as "urinary urgency (feeling a sudden strong uncontrollable urination urge)", "urinary frequency (abnormally increased frequency of urination)", and "urinary incontinence (uncontrollable urinary leakage)" due to various causes, including aging, neurological diseases, and cardiovascular disorders. The number of patients with overactive bladder is estimated to be 8.1 million in Japan (according to a survey by the Neurogenic Bladder Society, 2002). Since aging is one of the major causes, its number is considered to be even further increased in the future associated with the ageing population.

Public Relations Division, Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

(Tokyo) +81-3-3293-2878

Corporate Communications Dept., Toray Industries, Inc.

(Tokyo) +81-3-3245-5179
(Osaka) +81-6-7688-3085