News Releases

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (HQ: Tokyo, President and Representative Director: Masayuki Kobayashi) announced today that an antitumor agent "Abraxane_® I.V. Infusion 100 mg" [paclitaxel injection (suspension with albumin), launched in Japan in September, 2010] received approval for the additional indication of unresectable pancreatic cancer by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

Abraxane_® was approved in Japan for breast cancer in July 2010, and for gastric cancer and non-small cell lung cancer in February 2013. The new indication was based on the results of Phase I/II clinical study in unresectable, advanced or recurrent pancreatic cancer patients conducted in Japan and an international Phase III study (MPACT) conducted by Celgene Corporation, Taiho Pharmaceutical's business partner.

Taiho Pharmaceutical anticipates Abraxane_® making further contribution to patients and healthcare professionals in Japan with the addition of the new indication.

Abraxane_®,which is albumin-bound nanoparticles of paclitaxel that can be reconstituted with saline solution, has confirmed its safety and efficacy. It was developed by Abraxis BioScience, Inc. and is marketed worldwide by Celgene Corporation, the parent company of Abraxis BioScience. Taiho Pharmaceutical has development and marketing rights in Japan. Abraxane_® was approved in January 2005 by the U.S. FDA for treatment of breast cancer, and as of December 2014, it has been approved in 51 countries worldwide including the U.S. and European countries.

The MPACT study is an international Phase III study conducted in 11 countries including the U.S. and European countries for patients with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Eight hundred and sixty one patients were randomized to either Abraxane plus gemcitabine (Abraxane 125mg/m² and gemcitabine 1000mg/m² was administered on days 1, 8 and 15 repeated every 28 days) or gemcitabine (cycle 1: gemcitabine 1000mg/m² was administered once a week for consecutive 7 weeks followed by 1 week rest, cycle 2 and after: gemcitabine 1000mg/m² was administered on days 1, 8 and 15 repeated every 28 days). The result showed significant prolongation in the primary endpoint of overall survival in Abraxane plus gemcitabine arm compared to gemcitabine arm. The median overall survival was 8.5 months for Abraxane plus gemcitabine arm (95%CI:7.9 - 9.5) and 6.7 months for gemcitabine arm respectively, and the hazard ratio was 0.72 (p<0.001). The common grade 3/4 adverse events observed in Abraxane plus gemcitabine arm include neutropenia (38%), leukopenia (31%), fatigue (17%) and peripheral neuropathy (17%).

Celgene Corporation, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, is an integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through gene and protein regulation. For more information, please visit http://www.celgene.com/