News Releases

April 13, 2011
Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Announcement of License Agreement on a New Antiemetic Combination Agent

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (HQ: Tokyo, President: Toru Usami) and Helsinn Healthcare S.A. (HQ: Lugano, Switzerland) signed on April 12th, a licensing agreement on a fixed-dose combination product containing netupitant, an neurokinin-1(NK1) receptor antagonist, and palonosetron, a serotonin-3(5HT-3) receptor antagonist for potential use in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in Japan,.

Under the terms of the agreement, Helsinn will be responsible for the CMC development and supply of the product, and Taiho will be responsible will conduct preclinical and clinical development for obtaining regulatory approvals in Japan. Taiho currently is marketing "Aloxi® Injection 0.75mg" (generic name: palonosetron hydrocholoride) in Japan, which is used for prevention of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, based on the existing license agreement with Helsinn.

Riccardo Braglia, CEO of Helsinn group, said "We are very proud of the existing successful collaboration with Taiho Pharmaceutical in Japan. At the beginning of last year our Japanese partner launched palonosetron on the national market and, within less than one year, our drug became the market leader in its class. Now our collaboration is extending to the netupitant-palonosetron fixed dose combination and we are sure that the success will reiterate."

"We are delighted to extend our relationship with Helsinn with this license agreement in addition to our strong collaboration with Aloxi." Mr Toru Usami, President and Representative Director of Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. said. "With netupitant–palonosetron fixed dose combination product, we hope to further contribute in the area of supportive care in oncology"

About Netupitant

Palonosetron (generic name: palonosetron hydrochloride) is a second generation 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonist, developed for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with cancer, with a long half-life of 40 hours and a high receptor binding affinity. Palonosetron has been developed by the Helsinn Group in Switzerland and today it is marketed as Aloxi®, Onicit®, and Paloxi® in more than 50 countries world-wide. For more information about palonosetron, please visit the website: http://www.aloxi.com

About Palonosetron

Palonosetron (generic name: palonosetron hydrochloride) is a second generation 5-HT3 Receptor Antagonist, developed for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) in patients with cancer, with a long half-life of 40 hours and a high receptor binding affinity. Palonosetron has been developed by the Helsinn Group in Switzerland and today it is marketed as Aloxi®, Onicit®, and Paloxi® in more than 50 countries world-wide. For more information about palonosetron, please visit the website: http://www.aloxi.com

Information in this news release was current as of the original release date.

Taiho Pharmaceutical's press releases may contain information about prescription drugs including products currently under development, however information contained in the press releases are not intended to constitute promotion, advertisement, or medical advice.