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March 13, 2017

Kissei and Maruishi to collaborate for development and sales/marketing of kappa opioid receptor agonist, "MR13A9", in Japan

Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Maruishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.



Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Matsumoto-city, Nagano, Chairman and CEO: Mutsuo Kanzawa; "Kissei") and Maruishi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Tsurumi-ku, Osaka, Representative Director and President: Keiichi Inoue; "Maruishi") are pleased to announce that the companies have entered into a collaboration agreement for the development and sales/marketing of the kappa opioid receptor agonist "MR13A9" (Maruishi Development Code) for the treatment of uremic pruritus in dialysis patients. Presently, Maruishi is developing this drug in Japan.

This drug is a kappa opioid receptor agonist created by Cara Therapeutics, Inc. of the United States, and is the first intravenous injection formulation in the world for the treatment of uremic pruritus in dialysis patients. Maruishi in-licensed this drug from Cara Therapeutics, Inc. in April 2013. Currently, Maruishi is conducting the Phase II Clinical Study in Japan. This drug is expected to make a great contribution to the improvement of the convenience of patients and their drug compliance.

Under this agreement, Kissei and Maruishi will collaborate for the development and sales/marketing of this drug in Japan for the above-mentioned indication. Both companies will jointly bear the expenses for the development of this drug, and after Maruishi has obtained the New Drug Approval, Kissei will sell and market this drug.

Kissei has been positioning the renal and dialysis areas as one of its priorities and has been exerting great efforts for expanding the product line-up and enhancing its presence in these areas. The company believes that this agreement will strengthen such efforts, promote the development of this drug, and contribute to the maximization of its distribution.

As the specialty pharma in the perioperative and infection control areas, Maruishi has been focusing on the improvement of the Quality of Life of patients. The company expects that building a close collaborative relationship with Kissei, which has a strong presence in the renal and dialysis areas, will enable this drug to reach many more patients much earlier.


《Reference》
About "MR13A9"
This drug is a new compound created by Cara Therapeutics, Inc. of the United States ("Cara") and is a selective kappa opioid receptor agonist. It is believed that endogenous opioids are in some way involved as one of the expression mechanisms of pruritus in dialysis patients. It is well known that pruritus can be decreased by selectively activating a kappa opioid receptor, which is one of the subtypes of opioid receptors.
In the United States, Cara is conducting the Phase II Clinical Study for pruritus in dialysis patients and the Phase III Clinical Study for post-operative pain.