29.10.2013, 03:02:49
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OTE0002

Eisai Begins Free Supply of Diethylcarbamazine in Line With its Global Commitment to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis

Hatfield, England (ots/PRNewswire) -

First shipment to benefit more than 6 million people in 4 endemic
countries

Eisai announced today that it has begun the free supply of
diethylcarbamazine citrate (DEC) 100 mg tablets produced at its Vizag
Plant in India to the World Health Organization (WHO) in line with
its commitment to help WHO in its global effort to eliminate
lymphatic filariasis in targeted developing and emerging countries.

The Pacific island nations of Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Tuvalu and
Fiji have been confirmed as the first countries to receive the
initial shipment. An estimated 6.25 million people living in at-risk
communities will benefit from mass drug administration (MDA)
programmes.[1]

Eisai is an active partner and signatory to the London Declaration, a
global public-private partnership that aims to eliminate ten
neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including lymphatic filariasis,
by 2020. As part of its commitment to this global initiative, Eisai
has agreed to supply for free 2.2 billion DEC tablets to WHO for use
in national MDA programmes.

Lymphatic filariasis, commonly known as elephantiasis, is a parasitic
disease that is transmitted to humans by the bite of a mosquito.[2]
Once transmitted, it can cause lymphatic dysfunction and lead to
serious manifestations such as lymphoedema, causing painful and
disfiguring manifestations of the disease.[2] Currently, an estimated
120 million people are already affected and more than 1.4 billion
people worldwide are at risk of this disease.[2]

DEC (one of the drugs used to treat lymphatic filariasis) is in short
supply worldwide and is not easily accessible to at-risk populations
in lymphatic filariasis-endemic countries. This poses a major
obstacle for eliminating the disease. Having started the production
of DEC at its Vizag Plant in India in August 2013, Eisai has now
begun to provide a steady supply of DEC tablets over a seven-year
period from 2013 to 2020 for distribution through WHO's MDA
programmes to some 250 million people living in at-risk communities
in 26 targeted countries.[1]

Eisai believes that contributing to the improvement of global health
and access to medicines in developing countries is a form of
long-term investment that contributes to the economic growth of these
countries. The company remains actively committed to addressing
overall issues in global health, including NTDs, in order to further
increase the benefits provided to patients and their families
worldwide.

--------------------------------------------------

1. Bangladesh, Brazil, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji,
French Polynesia, Gambia, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Kenya, Kiribati,
Federated States of Micronesia, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Malaysia, Papua
New Guinea, Myanmar, Nepal, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe,
Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Notes to Editors:

About Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), NTDs* blight the
lives of more than 1 billion of the world's poorest 2.4 billion
people. There are 149 countries and territories where NTDs are
endemic, at least 100 of which are endemic for 2 or more of these
diseases, and 30 countries and territories of which are endemic for 6
or more. These diseases not only survive and spread in conditions of
poverty but also anchor large populations in poverty.

*NTDs designated by WHO for control or elimination: Buruli ulcer,
Chagas disease, cysticercosis/taeniasis, dengue / severe dengue,
dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease), echinococcosis, food-borne
trematodiases, human African trypanosomiasis, the leishmaniases,
leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, rabies,
schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiases, trachoma, and
yaws.[3]

About Lymphatic Filariasis

Lymphatic filariasis is a parasitic disease that is transmitted to
humans by the bite of a mosquito. Once transmitted, it can cause
lymphatic dysfunction. While infection is usually acquired during
childhood, symptoms often gradually appear over several years, with
the most serious manifestations of the disease occurring in
adulthood. One of the most serious manifestations, known as
elephantiasis, is a permanent physical disability in which a
patient's lower extremities swell to resemble those of an elephant.
In addition to impacting on a patient's ability to perform everyday
tasks, it historically has led to many patients falling victim to
social persecution due to biases against the disease. As such,
patients and their families may also suffer much emotional distress.
Today, lymphatic filariasis affects an estimated 120 million people
in 73 countries worldwide, most of whom live in developing and
emerging countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and other tropical
regions.

About the London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)

On January 30, 2012, the CEOs of 13 major global pharmaceutical
companies, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Agency for
International Development, the U.K. Department for International
Development, the World Bank, and officials from NTD-endemic countries
gathered in London to pledge their support for a coordinated effort
to combat ten NTDs* by 2020. In signing the London Declaration on
Neglected Tropical Diseases, each of the partner companies and
organisations also pledged new levels of commitment to defeating
these diseases.

The London Declaration represents the largest coordinated effort to
date, and unlike past approaches undertaken by an individual
organisation or for a single disease, the group has committed itself
to working collaboratively in an effort to comprehensively tackle
issues pertaining to drug supply, distribution, development,
implementation programmes, and other areas as it seeks to more
effectively combat NTDs.

*Dracunculiasis (guinea-worm disease), lymphatic filariasis, blinding
trachoma, human African trypanosomiasis, leprosy, soil-transmitted
helminthiases, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, Chagas disease, and
visceral leishmaniasis.

About Eisai's Commitment to Improving Global Access to Medicines

Today, it is estimated that some 2.4 billion people around the world
live on US$2 or less per day.[4] Most of these 2.4 billion people do
not have access to essential health care and treatment despite the
availability of effective medicines. This is an international
challenge that needs to be solved through collaborations among
governments, international organisations such as the WHO,
non-governmental organisations, and pharmaceutical companies.

In line with its human health care (hhc) mission, Eisai is committed
to improving global access to medicines over the medium-to-long term
through partnership strategies that involve working with governments,
international organisations, private entities and non-profit
organisations. Specifically, the company has developed and is
implementing a five-target approach to improve access to medicines
worldwide. The five key components are: product creations, strategic
solutions, capacity building, quality innovation, and long-term
investment.

For further information on Eisai's Access to Medicines initiatives,
please visit the Access to Medicines page on the Eisai Global
website: http://www.eisai.com/company/atm/index.html

About Eisai

Eisai is one of the world's leading research and development (R&D)
based pharmaceutical companies and we define our corporate mission as
"giving first thought to patients and their families and to
increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call human
health care (hhc).

Eisai concentrates its R&D activities in three key areas:

- Neuroscience, including: Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, pain and 
weight
  loss
- Oncology including: anticancer therapies; tumour regression, tumour
  suppression, antibodies, etc.
- Vascular/Immunological reaction including: thrombocytopenia, 
rheumatoid
  arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease

With operations in the U.S., Asia, Europe and its domestic home
market of Japan, Eisai employs more than 10,000 people worldwide.
From its EMEA Knowledge Centre in Hatfield, UK, Eisai has recently
expanded its business operations to include Europe, the Middle East,
Africa, Russia and Oceania (EMEA). Eisai EMEA has sales and marketing
operations in over 20 markets, including the United Kingdom, France,
Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, Austria,
Denmark, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the
Netherlands, Belgium, Russia and the Middle East.

For further information please visit our web site
http://www.eisai.co.uk

References

1. WHO Preventive Chemotherapy and Transmission Control (PCT)
Databank (as of 2012) http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/preventiv
e_chemotherapy/lf/en/index.html [Last accessed October 2013] 2. WHO.
Lymphatic filariasis Factsheet. March 2013.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs102/en/
[http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs102/en ]# [Last accessed
October 2013] 3. WHO. The 17 neglected tropical diseases.
http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/en/
[http://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/diseases/en ] [Last accessed
October 2013] 4. World Bank. Poverty Overview.
http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview [Last accessed
October 2013]