Chugai and Roche to co-promote Actemra in the UK

Chugai Pharmaceutical has announced it has elected to not exercise its right under the terms of its license agreement with Roche to co-promote Acetmra (tocilizumab) in Italy, Spain or the US, though it will co-promote the compound in France, Germany and the UK.

The companies signed a licensing agreement for the co-development and co-promotion of the drug in July 2003. Citing its existing marketing base in France, Germany and the UK, Chugai and Roche have begun formulating joint marketing strategies for the drug.

Chugai has elected to forgo its rights to opt-in to marketing Actemra in the other available countries to facilitate it to maximise the value of the compound as soon as possible.

Actemra blocks the binding of IL-6 to its receptor in order to inhibit its biological activity and is currently undergoing global phase III clinical trials as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

“Four out of five phase III clinical trials are scheduled to be reported by the end of the year and Roche is planning to file for approval in Europe and in the US in the latter part of 2007,” the company states.

In January 2007, Roche announced that Actemra had attained its primary endpoint in a clinical study of the compound evaluating its efficacy as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis in patients showing an inadequate response to methotrexate.