$10 million milestone for Sucampo, as Takeda starts US selling of Amitiza for OIC

USA-based Sucampo Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SCMP) says that it has received a $10 million milestone payment from partner, Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4502), under their existing collaboration and license agreement, triggered by the US commercial launch of Amitiza (lubiprostone) for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients with chronic, non-cancer pain.

The effectiveness of Amitiza in the treatment of opioid-induced constipation in patients taking diphenylheptane opioids (eg, methadone) has not been established, the US firm said. Takeda, Japan’s largest drugmaker, gained US and Canadian rights to the drug in 2004.

This is the third indication for Amitiza, which is also approved in the USA for the treatment of chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) in adults and irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C) in adult women. There are more than 200 million prescriptions for opioid use in the USA annually, and a substantial number of these are for non-cancer chronic pain. Scientific literature indicates that around 40%-80% of patients taking opioids chronically for non-cancer pain report constipation. Some patients may discontinue opioid therapy and thereby endure pain, rather than suffer from the constipation the opioids cause.