Strategically cooperation between Daiichi Sankyo & Pfizer for China huge market

Daiichi Sankyo Teams up with Pfizer in China

SHANGHAI, Mar 21, 2011 (SinoCast Daily Business Beat via COMTEX) -- China has had about 200 million hypertension patients and the money they spend on drugs used for the treatment continues rising. The sales of drugs used for the treatment of hypertension in China reached about CNY 8.1 billion in 2009, surging 35.3 percent year on year, according to sources from a contract signing ceremony Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE | PowerRating) jointly held to promote anti-hypertension drugs in the Chinese market recently. The sales of angiotensin II antagonist, a drug for hypertension treatment, stands at CNY 3.14 billion, up 38.8 percent from a year ago. Of the total, CNY 1.09 billion was contributed by generic drugs. According to the contract inked by Daiichi Sankyo Pharmaceutical Shanghai and Pfizer, both sides will jointly promote Olmesartan Medoxomil in China. Olmesartan Medoxomil was launched in the US market in 2002 and has been used by up to 25 million hypertension patients around the globe. It in 2006 gained approval to enter China and has debuted on 11 provinces' basic insurance drug use lists.