Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Eisai Introduces New Aricept Dose Formulations for Treatment of Severe Alzheimer's Disease in Japan

TOKYO, Dec. 25, 2007-Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, President & CEO: Haruo Naito) today announced that the company will introduce new dose formulations of Aricept® (donepezil hydrochloride), Aricept® Tablet 10 mg and Aricept® D Tablet 10 mg, for treatment of severe Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Japan on December 26, 2007.

On August 23, 2007, Eisai obtained approval for additional efficacy and dosage for Aricept® for the treatment of severe AD as well as for the marketing authorization for the new 10 mg dose formulations in Japan. The new 10 mg dose formulations were added to the National Health Insurance (NHI) drug price list as of December 21, 2007.

In the treatment of severe AD, dose of Aricept® is increased to 10 mg once daily, after four weeks and later at 5 mg. Currently, Aricept® is marketed in 3 mg tablet or 5 mg tablet formulations. With introduction of 10 mg tablets, one tablet a day administration treatment becomes available for all stages of AD (mild, moderate and severe) which can be beneficial for the patients and their families, as well as their caregivers.

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