Tillotts partners Menarini to extend Asacol® to the People’s Republic of China

RHEINFELDEN, Switzerland, October, 28, 2019 – Tillotts Pharma AG (“Tillotts”), part of the Japanese Zeria Group, and A. Menarini International Trading (Wuhan) Co. Ltd. (“Menarini”), a member of the Italian A. Menarini Group, today announced an agreement for the distribution and marketing of Tillotts’ Asacol^® product range in the People’s Republic of China (“China”).

Under the terms of the agreement, Menarini will be Tillotts’ exclusive and long-term partner in China with the marketing authorization to sell and promote Asacol^®, a first-line treatment for mild to moderate ulcerative colitis (UC). This agreement demonstrates Tillotts’ continuous commitment to make Asacol^® available to patients suffering from Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) all over the world.

The agreement is strategically important for both Tillotts and Menarini due to the steadily increasing number of IBD patients in China. China has among the highest number of IBD cases in Asia with a two- to three-fold increase in incidence in the past decade.^1,2 The introduction of this high strength Mesalazine tablet formulation to the Chinese market is expected to optimize the therapeutic options for IBD in China.

“An important aspect of our Vision 2030 is to expand our geographic presence in strategic important markets through carefully selected partnerships. We have long been investigating the possibilities in China and we are excited to be able to enter this agreement, to start the collaboration and to deliver new treatment opportunities to the Chinese patients,” said Mattias Norrman, Chief Operations Officer at Tillotts. “With Menarini as competent partner for the Chinese market, we are convinced to be able to improve the lives of Chinese IBD patients.”

Dong Minsheng, General Manager of Menarini China commented, “Menarini is passionate and committed to the China market, and to improve the lives of Chinese patients suffering from major chronic illnesses like IBD. This partnership with Tillotts is a positive development for Chinese IBD patients and complements our ever growing portfolio. With our strong gastrointestinal track record and wide network of key opinion leaders, we look forward to delivering the Asacol^® product range to Chinese patients, striving towards ‘Healthy China 2030’.”

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Tillotts Pharma AG, part of the Japanese Zeria Group, is a fast-growing specialty pharma company with over 300 employees in Switzerland and abroad. Tillotts is dedicated to the development, in/out-licensing and commercialisation of innovative pharmaceutical products for the digestive system. Tillotts successfully markets its own products for the treatment of IBD as well as in-licensed products, in around 65 countries through its affiliates within Europe and a network of gastroenterology-focused partners throughout the world.

All trademarks used or mentioned here are protected by law. The rights to Asacol, including the rights to the trademark, are owned by Tillotts in various countries except for the following: Switzerland, USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Copyright© 2019 Tillotts Pharma AG. All rights reserved.

For more information, please visit www.tillotts.com.

About Zeria

Zeria Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., founded in 1955, based in Tokyo, Japan, focuses on R&D, manufacturing and sales of prescription drugs as well as OTC products. The company is listed on the First Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange (Stock code: 4559). Zeria holds a leading position within the gastroenterology field in Japan and operates internationally through a number of subsidiaries. For more information about Zeria, please visit www.zeria.co.jp.

About Menarini China

Menarini China group of companies is a member of the Menarini Group, the world’s largest Italian biopharmaceutical company with a heritage of over 130 years and over 17,000 employees in more than 136 countries. Menarini China operates across the entire commercial value chain, from clinical development, regulatory approval and product launch to lifecycle management with a diverse portfolio of proprietary and partnered brands in key therapeutic fields, including Consumer Health, Dermatology, Allergy/Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Oncology/Specialty Care and Men’s Health.

For more information about Menarini, please visit: www.menariniapac.com.

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¹Cui G and Yuan A (2018) A Systematic Review of Epidemiology and Risk Factors Associated With Chinese Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Front. Med. 5:183.doi: 10.3389/fmed.2018.00183

²Siew C Ng. Emerging leadership lecture: Inflammatory bowel disease in Asia: Emergence of a “Western” disease, Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 30 (2015) 440–445