Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Osaka; Representative Director: Akihiro Tsujimura; hereinafter, 'MTPC'), a member of the Mitsubishi Chemical Group, announced that Radicava (generic name: edaravone, Japan name: RADICUT inj.30mg, hereinafter, 'the product') for an intravenous treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) will be launched in Brazil on February 29 at a local subsidiary of Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (Head Office: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President & COO: Hiroyuki Okuzawa; hereinafter, 'Daiichi Sankyo')
MTPC concluded a license agreement covering commercialization rights in Brazil for the product with Daiichi Sankyo in 2019. With such collaboration, Brazil became the first country in the licensed country/region to successfully launch the product.
ALS is an idiopathic neurodegenerative disease in which motor neurons selectively degenerate and vanish. Muscle strength declines throughout the entire body, including the limb, facial, and respiratory muscles, and muscular atrophy progress. While the cause for the majority of cases is not well understood but may involve genetic and environmental factors. It is one of the most well-known neuromuscular diseases, affecting approximately two in 100,000 people worldwide and fewer than 65 in 100,000 people in Brazil.
The product was approved for the treatment of ALS in Japan, June 2015, followed by South Korea, U.S., Canada, Switzerland, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia is marketed through MTPC or its subsidiaries. In countries and regions where MTPC has no presence, MTPC licenses and collaborates with local partners with strengths. MTPC will strive to deliver the product to patients fighting against ALS all over the world.
Contact:
Tel: +81-6-6205-5119
Edaravone
Edaravone is a free radical scavenger discovered by MTPC. It was approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in April 2001 for the treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke and is marketed in Japan under the product name of Radicut. Edaravone has the effect of scavenging free radicals that arise accompanying cerebral ischemia, controlling the lipid peroxidation reaction, and protecting neurons in the region of the ischemia and the surrounding region. Accordingly, it is thought that edaravone has the effect of scavenging free radicals, which increase in ALS, protecting motor neurons from oxidative stress, and delaying the decline in muscle strength and the progress of muscular atrophy.
The indication of ALS has been approved Japan in June 2015, South Korea in December 2015, the U.S. in May 2017, Canada in October 2018, Switzerland in January 2019, Indonesia in July 2020, Thailand in April 2021 and Malaysia in December 2021.
DAIICHI SANKYO CO., LTD. 
