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Pfizer, Takeda to promote diabetes drug in China
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-12-15 15:57
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Pfizer Inc, the world's largest drugmaker, and Osaka-based Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said on Tuesday they have signed an agreement to jointly promote and sell Takeda's diabetes drug in China.
The agreement allows Takeda, Japan's biggest drugmaker, to increase the number of medical representatives in the sales and marketing of its Actos product, expanding its reach by using the territory coverage of Pfizer in China, the statement said.
Takeda earns about half its revenues overseas.
Actos, Takeda's best-known drug, is a prescription medication used along with diet and exercise to improve blood sugar control in adults with type 2 diabetes. It has been sold in China since 2004 by Tianjin Takeda Pharmaceuticals, a joint venture between Takeda Pharmaceutical and Chinese partner Tianjin Lisheng Pharmaceutical Co.
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China, currently the world's fifth-largest pharmaceutical market, is expected to grow to be the third-largest market by 2011. It is also is expected to have more than 50 million diabetics by 2025, according to the International Diabetes Federation.
Last month, Pfizer said it planned to expand its research and development operations in central and western China as it strengthens its biomedical infrastructure throughout the country.
