Industry News

Cosette Acquires 8 Prescription Medications from Daiichi Sankyo

The transaction adds eight prescription medications focused on cardiovascular indications to Cosette Pharma’s current portfolio of over 45 commercial products.

Prescription Medication

Source: Getty Images

By Samantha McGrail

- Cosette Pharmaceuticals recently acquired US sales and distribution rights to eight prescription medications from Daiichi Sankyo Company and its affiliates.

Under the 30-month transition agreement, Daiichi Sankyo and Cosette Pharmaceuticals will transfer responsibilities from the manufacture, supply, and commercialization of these products, including quality assurance, pharmacovigilance, and regulatory matters.

The transaction adds eight prescription products focused on cardiovascular indications to Cosette’s current portfolio of over 45 commercial products.

The products include Benicar, Benicar HCT, Azor, Tribenzor, Welchol, Welchol Oral Suspension, Effient, and Evoxac.   

Annual US sales for the acquired products over 12 months were approximately $123 million, according to IQVIA.

“This transformative acquisition represents a significant expansion and diversification of Cosette’s portfolio and business,” Apurva Saraf, president and CEO of Cosette, said in the announcement.  

“We look forward to build on this transaction and successfully acquire and integrate important product portfolios in the future, and to continue to make these critical medications available for patients and prescribers,” Saraf continued.

Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases are responsible for nearly 18 million deaths worldwide each year and represent a significant burden for individuals and society.

Premier data showed that demand for amiodarone, a drug used to decrease the risk of late-onset cardiac arrest and manage arrhythmia, increased 66 percent nationally in the first quarter of 2020.

But cardiovascular drug shortages have skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis, worked to combat cardiovascular-related illnesses over the past year.

Specifically, the company focused on atherosclerosis, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, and obesity-driven disease.

In September 2021, Novartis and NHS England enabled broad access to Novartis’ RNA therapy, Leqvio, which helps lower LDL cholesterol (LCL-C) in eligible patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Two months later, the company launched Invisible Nation, a program to bring together a global network of patient organizations and other stakeholders to tackle atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVS).