Head Of Eisai Sees MGI Buy As Road To Continued Growth
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
Eisai's president says the Japanese firm's purchase of MGI Pharma, a U.S. biotechnology company, was done to give Eisai a way to continue growing as patents for its moneymaking drugs expire over the next few years. Haruo Naito said MGI was attractive because of its pipeline of promising cancer drugs, with some of its candidates complementary with Eisai's own. He acknowledged Eisai depends heavily on its Alzheimer's drug Aricept (donepezil) and its heartburn and acid reflux medication Pariet/Aciphex (rabeprazole), with Aricept set to lose U.S. patent protection in 2010. (Click here for more - a subscription may be required