Elan Drug Technologies, a business unit of Elan Corporation, plc announced the approval by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Emend (aprepitant) for the treatment of cancer chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Emend, which was developed by a subsidiary of Merck & Co Inc, Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, USA and licensed to Ono Pharmaceuticals Co, Ltd for the Japanese market, is the first licensed product approved in Japan that incorporates Elan Drug Technologies’ NanoCrystal technology.

NanoCrystal technology, enables formulation of poorly water soluble compounds for all routes of administration. For Emend, this technology advance eliminates a food requirement and improves bioavailability by 600 per cent. Emend was confirmed to be effective for both acute and delayed phases of nausea and vomiting in Japanese clinical trials, and becomes the first therapy approved for treatment of delayed phase nausea and vomiting (24 hours or later after start of cancer chemotherapy) in Japan.

“The approval of Emend is a significant achievement for our NanoCrystal technology, as it marks the first Japanese approval of a product incorporating this technology in this very important market,” said Shane Cooke, executive vice president and head of Elan Drug Technologies. “We hope this is the first of many products using our NanoCrystal technology to be launched in Japan.”

NanoCrystal technology is a proprietary technology developed by Elan Drug Technologies through Elan Pharma International Limited and other Elan affiliates. Five licensed products have now been approved using the NanoCrystal technology by various health authorities including the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Products incorporating the NanoCrystal® technology are sold in markets worldwide.

Elan Drug Technologies (EDT), one of the world’s leading drug delivery businesses, is a business unit of Elan Corporation plc. As a fully integrated drug delivery business, Elan Drug Technologies delivers clinically meaningful benefits to patients, by using its extensive experience and proprietary delivery technologies in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies.