Sankyo To Develop Searle's Xemilofiban In Japan

Sankyo has negotiated rights to codevelop and comarket Searle's novel antiplatelet agent xemilofiban in Japan. The drug is an orally-active agent which works by specific inhibition of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor on platelets, preventing them from binding to the fibrin network laid down during clot formation.

Xemilofiban treatment results in potent inhibition of platelet aggregation in response to all stimuli, according to Searle. The drug is in Phase II trials in the USA, Canada and Europe in myocardial infarction and unstable angina patients undergoing coronary artery revascularization, by either angioplasty or stenting.

In Japan, a cohort of patients have been enrolled for the Phase I clinical program, but in this country the lead indications will center around the control of peripheral arterial disease, due primarily to differences in the approach to medical care compared to the USA and Europe. Sankyo has listed arteriosclerotic obliteration and thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger's disease) as likely first indications for the product. In the future, the compound is expected to have a wide range of indications in all countries, including cerebrovascular applications such as stroke prevention.