Japanese pharmaceutical firm Eisai Co, through its South Korean marketing subsidiary, has rolled out a higher-dose, once-daily Aricept (donepezil hydrochloride) 23mg tablet formulation used to treat moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease (AD) in South Korea.
Since 1998, Eisai Korea has been locally selling Aricept 5mg and 10mg tablet formulations, while the launch of Aricept 23mg tablet will provide a more beneficial treatment option for patients with moderate-to-severe AD.
A study highlights that over 9% of South Koreans aged 65 and beyond, or nearly 540,000 patients are suffering from AD, with about 220,000 patients of that number estimated to be living with moderate-to-severe stages of the disease. Due to this, South Korea became the first country in Asia to launch the formulation.
Hong Kong has already been granted approval to Eisai's formulation, while the company is gearing up to submit the application for the same in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and other countries.
The US FDA approved the formulation in July 2010, based on the result of head-to-head trial known as Study 326, which showed that the Aricept 23mg has superior benefit in cognitive function of patients with moderate-to-severe AD.
