Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. (TPNA) announced a three-year agreement to co-promote Kos' Niaspan and Advicor in the US.
Niaspan is the only FDA-approved, once-daily extended-release formulation of niacin for treating abnormal cholesterol levels. Advicor, the first and only FDA-approved combination therapy for the treatment of patients with multiple lipid disorders, combines Niaspan with lovastatin.
The co-promotion agreement adds more than 1,000 TPNA sales representatives to the existing Kos sales force to detail Niaspan (extended-release niacin) and Advicor (extended-release niacin/lovastatin), two products developed by Kos for the treatment of cholesterol disorders. Such increased promotional effort is expected to significantly enhance the value of Kos' cholesterol franchise within the US, the largest cholesterol market in the world.
For TPNA, the agreement fills current sales force capacity while allowing the company to continue to grow its franchise product, ACTOS (pioglitazone HCl) and develop its existing pipeline.
"Our partnership with Takeda to market Niaspan and Advicor in the US could be one of the most important strategic initiatives the company has taken since the launch of Advicor," said Adrian Adams, president and chief executive officer, Kos Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
"Takeda's significant presence in the primary care universe will effectively penetrate an area that we have not concentrated on and will not only more than double our reach to possibly an additional 48,000 physicians, but will also permit Kos to increase frequency with our current physician prescribing base, which consists primarily of specialists who treat coronary heart disease patients. Moreover, by leveraging Takeda's strong sales and marketing capabilities, this is an extremely effective way to increase our share of voice in the cholesterol market."
"Niaspan and Advicor are great complements to our diabetes product, ACTOS," commented Mark Booth, president, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. "Given the association between diabetes and cardiovascular disease, each with a rapidly growing incidence rate, we see a significant opportunity to broaden the use of these two highly differentiated products while we continue to grow ACTOS, particularly among primary care physicians and diabetologists."
Coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes affect 14 million and 16 million patients, respectively, and more than 60 percent of patients who have diabetes also have coronary heart disease.
Niaspan and Advicor, both approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are two highly differentiated lipid-modifying products that participate in the large and rapidly growing US cholesterol market, projected to reach approximately $14 billion in annual revenue in 2003.
Pursuant to this agreement, TPNA will utilize its US-based sales force, which now exceeds 1,000 representatives, to not only promote its product, ACTOS, but also detail Kos' Advicor and Niaspan. TPNA is responsible for providing a promotional effort that will nearly double Kos details per year, and for all costs associated with its sales force, including promotional materials and samples.
Kos is responsible for manufacturing and supplying both products and will collect and record all sales associated with its products. The co-promotion arrangement has a three-year term commencing January 2004 and provides for residual payments to TPNA after the three years, if the parties do not renew the agreement.