is a Japanese

pharmaceutical company The pharmaceutical industry discovers, develops, produces, and markets drugs or pharmaceutical drugs for use as medications to be administered to patients (or self-administered), with the aim to cure them, vaccinate them, or alleviate sympto ...

headquartered in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. It has some 10,000 employees, among them about 1,500 in research. Eisai is listed on the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...

and is a member of the

Topix 100 , commonly known as TOPIX, along with the Nikkei 225, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan, tracking all domestic companies of the exchange's Prime market division. It is calculated and published by the T ...

and

Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It has been calculated daily by the '' Nihon Keizai Shimbun'' (''The Nikkei'') newspaper since 1950 ...

stock indices.

History

Nihon Eisai Co. Ltd. was established in 1941. In 1944, merger with Sakuragaoka Research Laboratory resulted in creation of Eisai Co. Ltd. The American subsidiary of the company, Eisai Inc., was established in 1995. On November 25, 1996, Eisai received approval from the United States

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(USFDA) for Aricept (

donepezil Donepezil, sold under the brand name Aricept among others, is a medication used to treat dementia of the Alzheimer's type. It appears to result in a small benefit in mental function and ability to function. Use, however, has not been shown to ...

), a drug discovered in the company's labs and co-marketed with

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

. Three years later in 1999, the company received USFDA approval for Aciphex (

rabeprazole Rabeprazole, sold under the brand name Aciphex, among others, is a medication that decreases stomach acid. It is used to treat peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and excess stomach acid production such as in Zollinger–Elli ...

), a drug co-marketed with Johnson & Johnson. In September 2006, the company acquired four oncology products from

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company located in San Diego, California. Founded in 1987 as Progenix Inc., the company went public in 1992. Initially focused on developing its own drugs, a period of turbulence in the early 2000s cul ...

. In April 2007, Eisai acquired

Exton, Pennsylvania Exton is a census-designated place (CDP) in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 5,622 at the 2020 census. The Exton Square Mall and Main Street at Exton are both located within Exton along w ...

-based Morphotek, a company developing

therapeutic monoclonal antibodies Monoclonal antibody therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to bind monospecifically to certain cells or proteins. The objective is that this treatment will stimulate the patient's immune system to attack those ...

for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and infectious diseases. In December 2007, Eisai acquired

MGI Pharma MGI may refer to: * Martín García Island Airport, in Argentina * McKinsey Global Institute * Miss Grand International, a beauty pageant franchise based in Thailand * Mouse Genome Informatics, an online database * Jili language Jili (Lijili) i ...

, a company specializing in oncology, for US$3.9 billion. This event brought Dacogen (

decitabine Decitabine, sold under the brand name Dacogen among others, acts as a nucleic acid synthesis inhibitor. It is a medication for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, a class of conditions where certain blood cells are dysfunctional, and for ...

), Aloxi (

palonosetron Palonosetron, sold under the brand name Aloxi, is used for the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). It is a 5-HT3 antagonist. Palonosetron is administered intravenously, or as a single oral capsule. Freel ...

), Hexalen (

altretamine Altretamine (trade name Hexalen), also called hexamethylmelamine, is an antineoplastic agent. It was approved by the U.S. FDA in 1990. Uses It is indicated for use as a single agent in the palliative treatment of patients with persistent or r ...

) for ovarian cancer, and the Gliadel Wafer ( carmustine) for brain tumors into the Eisai product portfolio. In 2009, Eisai received the Corporate Award from the

National Organization for Rare Disorders The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is an American non-profit organization aiming to provide support for individuals with rare diseases by advocating and funding research, education, and networking among service providers. It wa ...

(NORD) for the development of Banzel.

Locations

Eisai Co., Ltd. is based in

, Japan, while its American subsidiary Eisai Inc. is headquartered in Nutley, New Jersey. Eisai maintains medical research headquarters in Nutley as well as at locations in Japan, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the Research Triangle in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

, and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

where the Eisai Research Institute and the Genetics Guided Dementia Discovery (G2D2) institute are based. The company has manufacturing sites in Japan, North Carolina (USA), Maryland (USA), Bogor (Indonesia), Suzhou (China), Tainan (Taiwan), Visakhapatnam (India) and Hatfield, Hertfordshire (UK). Eisai has marketing operations in 19 European countries as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

Products

Some of the key products that Eisai produces or markets with partners include: *Aciphex/Pariet (

) - Gastroesophageal reflux disease *Actonel (

risedronic acid Risedronic acid, often used as its sodium salt risedronate sodium, is a bisphosphonate. It slows down the cells which break down bone. It's used to treat or prevent osteoporosis, and treat Paget's disease of bone. It is taken by mouth. It was ...

) - Osteoporosis (Japan) *Aloxi (

) - Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting * Aricept (

) - Mild to moderate dementia for Alzheimer's Disease patients *Banzel/Inovelon ( rufinamide) - Seizures related to Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome *Belviq (

lorcaserin Lorcaserin, marketed under the brand name Belviq was a weight-loss drug developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals. It reduces appetite by activating a type of serotonin receptor known as the 5-HT2C receptor in a region of the brain called the hypotha ...

) - Obesity *Dayvigo (

lemborexant Lemborexant, sold under the brand name Dayvigo, is an orexin antagonist medication which is used in the treatment of insomnia. It is indicated specifically for the treatment of insomnia characterized by difficulties with sleep onset and/or maint ...

) - Insomnia *Fragmin (

dalteparin Dalteparin is a low molecular weight heparin. It is marketed as Fragmin. Like other low molecular weight heparins, dalteparin is used for prophylaxis or treatment of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism to reduce the risk of a stroke or ...

) - Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism *Fycompa (

perampanel Perampanel, sold under the brand name Fycompa, is an anti-epileptic medication developed by Eisai Co. that is used in addition to other drugs to treat partial seizures and generalized tonic-clonic seizures for people older than twelve years. ...

) - Partial-onset seizures *Halaven (

eribulin Eribulin, sold under the brand name Halaven, is an anticancer medication used to treat breast cancer and liposarcoma. The most common side effects include fatigue, nausea, hair loss (alopecia), constipation, certain nerve damage causing weaknes ...

) - Metastatic breast cancer *Iomeron ( iomeprol) - Non-ionic contrast medium *Methylcobal (

methylcobalamin Methylcobalamin (mecobalamin, MeCbl, or MeB) is a cobalamin, a form of vitamin B. It differs from cyanocobalamin in that the cyano group at the cobalt is replaced with a methyl group. Methylcobalamin features an octahedral cobalt(III) centre and ...

) - Peripheral neuropathy *Myonal ( eperisone) - Muscle relaxant *Selbex ( teprenone) - Gastric ulcers and gastritis *Zonegran (

zonisamide Zonisamide, sold under the brand name Zonegran among others, is a medication used to treat the symptoms of epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. Chemically it is a sulfonamide. It serves as an anticonvulsant used primarily as an adjunctive therapy ...

) - Partial-onset seizures *Gliadel Wafer ( carmustine) - Treatment for Brain Tumors *Lenvima (

lenvatinib Lenvatinib, sold under the brand name Lenvima among others, is an anti-cancer medication for the treatment of certain kinds of thyroid cancer and for other cancers as well. It was developed by Eisai Co. and acts as a multiple kinase inhibitor ag ...

) - Thyroid Cancer or Kidney Cancer

Aricept

Aricept accounted for 40% of Eisai's revenue as of March 2010. The main competitor to Aricept is a generic formulation from Ranbaxy Labs. Eisai has pursued development of alternative formulations in order to extend the marketable lifetime of the product.

References

External links