Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has ended a co-promotion agreement with Eisai for Azilect, a drug for Parkinson’s disease, in the USA.
Teva said its US subsidiary Teva Neuroscience will assume sole responsibility for the marketing of Azilect (rasagiline) in the US market. The product was cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration in May as the first once-daily oral treatment for Parkinson’s, and is scheduled for launch later this month.
Azilect hit a few hurdles on the way to US approval, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asking for additional data on the drug in August 2005, but is already on the market in Europe and under regulatory review in Canada.
Since 2003, Teva Neuroscience has more than doubled its field presence in preparation for this launch, according to the Israeli firm. The team already details Teva’s Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) product for multiple sclerosis.
