ANTIOBESITY AGENT VENESPRI® (LORCASERIN) APPROVED IN MEXICO – FIRST COUNTRY IN LATIN AMERICA TO APPROVE LORCASERIN

Eisai Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Tokyo, CEO: Haruo Naito, “Eisai”) announced today that its pharmaceutical sales subsidiary in Mexico, Eisai Laboratorios, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Location: Mexico City, “Eisai Mexico”) has received approval for the antiobesity agent VENESPRI® (lorcaserin hydrochloride, U.S. brand name: BELVIQ®, “lorcaserin”) as an adjunct to a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity for chronic weight management in adult patients with an initial body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m² or greater (obese) or 27 kg/m² or greater (overweight) in the presence of at least one weight-related co-morbid condition (e.g., hypertension, dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes) by the Federal Commission for the Protection Against Sanitary Risk (COFEPRIS), the Mexico regulatory authority. Mexico marks the first country in Latin America where lorcaserin is approved. Lorcaserin will be marketed in Mexico under the brand name VENESPRI.

Discovered and developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Headquarters: California, United States, President and CEO: Amit D. Munshi, “Arena”), lorcaserin is a novel chemical entity that is believed to decrease food consumption and promote satiety by selectively activating serotonin 2C receptors in the brain. Eisai’s U.S. subsidiary Eisai Inc. has an exclusive licensing agreement with Arena to commercialize lorcaserin in most countries and territories worldwide, including Europe, Japan and China (excluding South Korea, Chinese Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and Israel).

In 2014, Mexico‘s pharmaceutical market was worth 11.3 billion U.S. dollars, making it the 16th biggest pharmaceutical market in the world, and the third biggest in Latin America after Brazil and Venezuela. In 2019, Mexico’s pharmaceutical market is expected to grow to a scale of 13.4 billion U.S. dollars. In August 2011, Eisai established Eisai Mexico, which currently markets the anticancer agents Lenvima®, Halaven® and Gliadel®. Regarding antiepileptic agents, Eisai Mexico has received approval for Inovelon® and has submitted Fycompa® for regulatory review.

Eisai is committed to delivering innovative new treatments to patients in Mexico while enhancing its product lineup as it seeks to further increase the benefits it provides to patients and their families in the country.