Richter & Fuji: Strategic Collaboration in Women's Healthcare

• Gedeon Richter and Fuji Pharma have strengthened their strategic partnership
• Fuji Pharma has the rights to market Richter’s estetrol-based hormone replacement therapy in Japan and ASEAN

Gedeon Richter Plc., a Budapest-based company, and Fuji Pharma Co. of Japan have announced their expanded and further strengthened strategic partnership to work together for enhanced women's healthcare.

Their long-standing partnership has produced several achievements including, Fuji's research, development, launch, and marketing of the dysmenorrhea drug Alyssa ® (drospirenone and estetrol -E4) in Japan, and the distribution of Richter's oral contraceptive (Nextstellis TM) in Thailand.

More importantly, Fuji has the commercial rights to Richter's hormone replacement therapy (HRT) candidate based on estetrol (E4) which they are currently developing for commercial sale in Japan and ASEAN countries.

The product will be marketed as FYLREVY®, and has just received a positive opinion to market from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in Europe.

Women's healthcare continues to be a highly underinvested and innovative area of global R&D (less than 5 percent of global pharmaceutical R&D) with the opportunity for companies who have an interest in investing in women's healthcare to do so.

In this regard, Gedeon Richter and Fuji have recently signed a Business Collaboration Agreement to further develop commercially as well as through R&D within the area of Gynecology which is a strategic focus of both companies.

They will work together to find, assess and acquire new and promising external drug candidates. With these acquisitions, we will also include internal R&D efforts to facilitate faster innovation and provide the best possible therapies for women around the world.

Richter has located a new drug discovery and development facility in Belgium, in addition to expanding its R&D capabilities in Budapest, to support further innovation in the field of gynecology; the new research facility will play an important role in helping to advance projects jointly developed by Richter and Fuji.