WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J., March 12 Eisai Inc. (Headquarters: Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, Chairman and CEO: Hajime Shimizu, "Eisai") today announces that it has entered into a licensing agreement with the Johns Hopkins University's Brain Science Institute (Headquarters: Baltimore, Maryland, Director: John Griffin, M.D., "BSI") related to Eisai's GCPII (glutamate carboxypeptidase II) technology.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Eisai has granted BSI non-exclusive U.S. rights to utilize Eisai's GCPII technology to generate GCPII inhibitor molecules for diseases of the central nervous system, including peripheral neuropathy, Alzheimer's disease, stroke, ALS, neurodegeneration and other disorders in humans. BSI will be responsible for the research and preclinical development activities. Eisai will have an exclusive option to license molecules generated using the GCPII technology.
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"Johns Hopkins brings significant expertise to Eisai's GCPII inhibitor project," said Lynn Kramer, M.D., President, Neuroscience Product Creation Unit at Eisai. "Our collaboration may lead to a deeper understanding of diseases of the central nervous system and ultimately to the development of innovative new therapies to address unmet medical needs."
Eisai Inc.
Eisai Inc. was established in 1995 and is ranked among the top-20 U.S. pharmaceutical companies (based on retail sales). The company began marketing its first product in the United States in 1997 and has rapidly grown to become a fully integrated pharmaceutical business with fiscal year 2008 (year ended March 31, 2009) sales of approximately $3.7 billion. Eisai Inc.'s areas of commercial focus include neurology, gastrointestinal disorders and oncology/critical care. Headquartered in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey, the company serves as the U.S. pharmaceutical operation of Eisai Co., Ltd., a research-based human health care (hhc) company that discovers, develops and markets products throughout the world.
Eisai has a global product creation organization that includes U.S.-based R&D facilities in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina and Pennsylvania as well as manufacturing facilities in Maryland and North Carolina. The company's areas of R&D focus include neuroscience; oncology; vascular, inflammatory and immunological reaction; and antibody-based programs. For more information about Eisai, please visit www.eisai.com.
*On October 1, 2009, Eisai Research Institute of Boston, Inc. (established in 1987) and Eisai Medical Research Inc. (established in 2002) were merged into Eisai Inc.
SOURCE Eisai Inc.
