Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President: Goichi Matsuda, hereinafter 'Torii') currently distributes and markets Riona Tablets 250mg for the improvement of hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease, for which Japan Tobacco Inc. (hereinafter 'JT') has filed an additional indication for iron deficiency anemia (IDA) (hereinafter the 'New Indication').

Torii and ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Takashi Yamaguchi, hereinafter 'ASKA') have entered into a co-promotion agreement (hereinafter the 'Agreement') that covers this New Indication for Riona.

Under the Agreement, once the New Indication has been approved by PMDA, Torii and ASKA will jointly engage in the marketing of Riona's the New Indication. Torii will mainly focus on medical institutions with chronic kidney disease-related departments, such as nephrology and dialysis, while ASKA will mainly focus on medical institutions with obstetrics and gynecology.

As a specialty pharma company that focuses on the obstetrics and gynecology area, ASKA is striving to expand its portfolio of relevant products. Through the co-promotion of Riona, it will endeavour to further strengthen its presence in the market.

By co-promoting Riona with ASKA, which has extensive experience in the obstetrics and gynecology area, Torii believes that it will be able to provide wider information about Riona more effectively for relevant medical professionals.

Through these co-promotion activities, Torii and ASKA intend to build a close collaborative relationship, with the aim of the early establishment of Riona as a new option to help patients with iron deficiency anemia.

ABOUT Riona Tablets 250mg

'Riona Tablets 250mg' is approved and marketed for the treatment of hyperphosphatemia in adult patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) both on dialysis and not on dialysis in Japan. JT and Torii hold the exclusive rights in Japan for its development and commercialization of Riona under the agreement dated September 26, 2007 with Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. JT received approval for Riona on January 17, 2014 and Torii has been promoting and distributing products Riona since May 12, 2014.

In the United States, ferric citrate is approved and marketed by Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. under the trade name Auryxia for the control of serum phosphorus levels in adult patients with CKD on dialysis and for the treatment of IDA in adult patients with CKD not on dialysis.

ABOUT IDA

IDA is the most frequent anemia, which is caused by decreasing hemoglobin production due to iron deficiency. IDA involves symptoms of anemia with palpitations and shortness of breath, as well as pica, fatigability, etc., which leads to the decrease in the patient's quality of life. The treatment for IDA is the iron supplementation and the correction of the underlying cause.

Contact:

Tel: +81-3-3231-6814

Email: webmaster@torii.co.jp

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