Kowa acquires ProEthic Pharma

Japan's Kowa Company, a privately-held firm headquartered in Nagoya, has acquired ProEthic Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held specialty pharmaceutical company based in Alabama, USA. Financial terms wee not disclosed. Effective September 1, ProEthic will change its name to Kowa Pharmaceuticals America and will assume responsibility for all sales and marketing functions currently operating in Montgomery, Alabama. ProEthic's clinical development group will transfer to the Kowa Research Institute, located in North Carolina. The first product to be launched by the new company will be pitavastatin, a novel HMG CoA reductase inhibitor for the treatment of hyperlipidemia. Pitavastatin is sold in Japan, Korea and Thailand under the brand Livalo, and has recently completed Phase III clinical development in Europe and the USA.