Tokyo: Japanese pharmaceutical giant, Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary in Korea, Daiichi Sankyo Korea Co Ltd (DSKR), and Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co Ltd have signed an agreement for the co-promotion of the oral, once-daily anti-coagulant, Lixiana (generic name: edoxaban).

Daewoong Pharmaceutical is also the co-promoting partner in South Korea for the Daiichi Sankyo antihypertensives Olmetec, Olmetec Plus, Sevikar, Sevikar HCT, and through this new agreement, Daiichi Sankyo Korea aims to maximize Lixiana's product value and further contribute to disease treatment and prevention in South Korea.

Lixiana was approved in South Korea in August 2015 and will be launched within this fiscal year.

Edoxaban is a once-daily oral anticoagulant that directly inhibits Factor Xa, an important factor in the coagulation process. Edoxaban is licensed for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty, total hip arthroplasty and hip fracture surgery. Daiichi Sankyo continues to develop edoxaban at a global level as a potential new treatment for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, and the treatment and prevention of recurrent VTE. Notably, Daiichi Sankyo has more than 25 years experience conducting research in the area of Factor Xa inhibition and was the first company to study these compounds in humans.