Japan-based pharma firm Eisai has extended its global expansion with a new office in Melbourne, Australia.
The office will provide Eisai with a platform to market its portfolio of oncology and epilepsy products, leading with breast cancer treatment Halaven (erbulin) and epilepsy drug Fycompa (perampanel).
Gary Hendler, president and CEO of Eisai EMEA, said: “The launch of the new Eisai office recognises that Australia has an important and distinctive healthcare system.”
Halaven received reimbursement in Australia in October and is one of the few breast cancer treatments to be approved by the Australian Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (PBS) in recent years.
The drug is indicated for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have progressed after at least two chemotherapeutic regimens for advanced disease. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline and a taxane in either the adjuvant or metastatic setting unless patients were not suitable for these treatments.
Fycompa is the first in a new class of treatment for partial onset seizures, the most common form of epilepsy. It received reimbursement from the PBS in November in contrast to its fate in Germany where it was turned down for national use by the G-BA last week.
Dr John Bower, market access and medical director of Eisai Australia, said: “While these two products will be our initial focus, Eisai also has an exciting pipeline in oncology, neurology, and the vascular and gastrointestinal fields.”
Eisai has expanded into other markets in recent years, including Russia, where Halaven was launched last year, and in Belgium, where the company created a new office in Brussels.