is a Japanese

pharmaceutical company The pharmaceutical industry is a Medicine, medical industry that discovers, develops, produces, and markets pharmaceutical goods such as medications and medical devices. Medications are then administered to (or Self-medicate, self-administered b ...

headquartered in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. It has some 10,000 employees, among them about 1,500 in research. Eisai is listed on the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. The exchange is owned by Japan Exchange Group (JPX), a holding company that it also lists (), and operated by Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc., a wholly owned sub ...

and is a member of the

Topix 100 The , commonly known as the TOPIX, is an important stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Japan, along with the Nikkei 225. The TOPIX tracks the entire market of domestic companies and covers most stocks in the Tokyo Stock Exc ...

and

Nikkei 225 The Nikkei 225, or , more commonly called the ''Nikkei'' or the ''Nikkei index'' (), is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). It is a price-weighted index, operating in the Japanese yen, Japanese Yen (JP¥), and its compone ...

stock indices In finance, a stock index, or stock market index, is an Index (economics), index that measures the performance of a stock market, or of a subset of a stock market. It helps investors compare current stock price levels with past prices to calcul ...

History

Nihon Eisai Co. Ltd. was established in 1941. In 1944, merger with Sakuragaoka Research Laboratory resulted in creation of Eisai Co. Ltd. The American subsidiary of the company, Eisai Inc., was established in 1995. On November 25, 1996, Eisai received approval from the United States

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

(USFDA) for Aricept (

donepezil Donepezil, sold under the brand name Aricept among others, is a medication used to treat dementia of the Alzheimer's type. It appears to result in a small benefit in mental function and ability to function. Use, however, has not been shown to ...

), a drug discovered in the company's labs and co-marketed with

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...

. Three years later in 1999, the company received USFDA approval for Aciphex ( rabeprazole), a drug co-marketed with

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

. In September 2006, the company acquired four oncology products from Ligand Pharmaceuticals. In April 2007, Eisai acquired

Exton, Pennsylvania Exton is a census-designated place (CDP) in West Whiteland Township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 5,622 at the 2020 census. The Exton Square Mall and Main Street at Exton are both located within Exton alon ...

-based Morphotek, a company developing

therapeutic monoclonal antibodies Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have varied therapeutic uses. It is possible to create a mAb that binds specifically to almost any extracellular target, such as cell surface proteins and cytokines. They can be used to render their target ineffectiv ...

for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and infectious diseases. In December 2007, Eisai acquired MGI Pharma, a company specializing in oncology, for US$3.9 billion. This event brought Dacogen (

decitabine Decitabine (i.e., 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine), sold under the brand name Dacogen among others, acts as a nucleic acid synthesis inhibitor. It is a medication for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, a class of conditions where certain blood ...

), Aloxi (

palonosetron Palonosetron, sold under the brand name Aloxi, is a medication used for the prevention and treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). It is a 5-HT3 antagonist. Palonosetron is administered intravenously, or as a single oral ...

), Hexalen (

altretamine Altretamine (trade name Hexalen), also called hexamethylmelamine, is an antineoplastic agent. It was approved by the U.S. FDA in 1990. Uses It is indicated for use as a single agent in the palliative treatment of patients with persistent or r ...

) for ovarian cancer, and the Gliadel Wafer ( carmustine) for brain tumors into the Eisai product portfolio. In 2009, Eisai received the Corporate Award from the

National Organization for Rare Disorders The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is a nonprofit organization, based in Connecticut, aiming to provide support for individuals with rare diseases by advocating and funding research, education, and networking among service pro ...

(NORD) for the development of Banzel ( rufinamide). In June 2023, the company suffered from a

ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware that Encryption, encrypts the victim's personal data until a ransom is paid. Difficult-to-trace Digital currency, digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, cryptocurrencies are com ...

attack, causing a shutdown of some of its logistical systems. Lecanemab, branded as "Leqembi" was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2023 under an Accelerated Approval pathway. The approval was converted into a traditional approval in July 2023.

Locations

Eisai Co., Ltd. is based in

, Japan, while its American subsidiary, Eisai Inc., is headquartered in

Nutley, New Jersey Nutley is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 30,143, an increase of 1,773 (+6.2%) from the 2010 United ...

. Eisai Inc. is led by Ivan Cheung as CEO. Eisai maintains

medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

headquarters in Nutley as well as at locations in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the Research Triangle in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

where the Eisai Research Institute and the Genetics Guided Dementia Discovery (G2D2) institute are based. The company has manufacturing sites in Japan, North Carolina (USA), Maryland (USA), Bogor (Indonesia), Suzhou (China), Tainan (Taiwan), Visakhapatnam (India) and Hatfield, Hertfordshire (UK). Eisai has marketing operations in 19 European countries as well as the Asia-Pacific region.

Products

Some of the key products that Eisai produces or markets with partners include: *Aciphex/Pariet ( rabeprazole) - Gastroesophageal reflux disease *Actonel (

risedronic acid Risedronic acid, often used as its sodium salt risedronate sodium, is a bisphosphonate. It slows down the cells which break down bone. It's used to treat or prevent osteoporosis, and treat Paget's disease of bone. It is taken by mouth. It was p ...

) - Osteoporosis (Japan) *Aloxi (

) - Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting * Aricept (

) - Mild to moderate dementia for Alzheimer's Disease patients *Banzel/Inovelon ( rufinamide) - Seizures related to Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome *Belviq (

lorcaserin Lorcaserin, marketed under the brand name Belviq, was a weight-loss drug developed by Arena Pharmaceuticals. It reduces appetite by activating serotonin receptor the 5-HT2C receptor in the hypothalamus, a region of the brain which is known to ...

) - Obesity *Dayvigo ( lemborexant) - Insomnia *Fragmin ( dalteparin) - Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism *Fycompa ( perampanel) - Partial-onset seizures *Gliadel Wafer ( carmustine) - Treatment for Brain Tumors *Halaven ( eribulin) - Metastatic breast cancer *Iomeron ( iomeprol) - Non-ionic contrast medium *Lenvima (

lenvatinib Lenvatinib, sold under the brand name Lenvima among others, is an anti-cancer medication for the treatment of certain kinds of thyroid cancer and for other cancers as well. It was developed by Eisai Co. and acts as a multiple kinase inhibitor aga ...

) - Thyroid Cancer or Kidney Cancer *Leqembi ( lecanemab) -

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

*Methylcobal (

methylcobalamin Methylcobalamin (mecobalamin, MeCbl, or MeB) is a cobalamin, a form of vitamin B12, vitamin B. It differs from cyanocobalamin in that the cyanide, cyano group at the cobalt is replaced with a methyl group. Methylcobalamin features an octahedral ...

) - Peripheral neuropathy *Myonal (

eperisone Eperisone (formulated as the eperisone hydrochloride salt) is an antispasmodic drug. Eperisone acts by relaxing both skeletal muscles and vascular smooth muscles, and demonstrates a variety of effects such as reduction of myotonia, improvement ...

) - Muscle relaxant *Selbex ( teprenone) - Gastric ulcers and gastritis *Zonegran (

zonisamide Zonisamide, sold under the brand name Zonegran among others, is a medication used to treat the symptoms of epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. Chemically it is a sulfonamide. It serves as an anticonvulsant used primarily as an adjunctive therapy ...

) - Partial-onset seizures

Aricept

Aricept accounted for 40% of Eisai's revenue as of March 2010. The main competitor to Aricept is a generic formulation from Ranbaxy Labs. Eisai has pursued development of alternative formulations in order to extend the marketable lifetime of the product.

References

External links