Daiichi Sankyo plans to more than double its U.S. sales force by 2010 in an effort to further expand outside of its home Japanese market, the firm announced Feb. 14.

In the U.S., Daiichi Sankyo currently has 900 sales representatives, which it plans to expand to 2,300 in fiscal year 2009.

As part of the company's first midterm business management plan, covering fiscal years 2007-2009, DS is targeting sales of at least ¥200 billion ($1.66 billion) in the U.S. and ¥960 billion ($7.95 billion) overall in FY-09. The firm's fiscal year begins on April 1 of the calendar year.

The plan was developed as a result of the merger of Daiichi and Sankyo, which closed in October 2005 (¹ Also see "Daiichi Sankyo Will Focus On Six Therapeutic Areas" - Pink Sheet, 25 February, 2005.).

DS is counting on the launch of several new products to justify the massive force increase. In FY-07, the firm is eyeing the U.S. launch of CS-8663, a combination of its own angiotensin receptor blocker Benicar (olmesartan), which is comarketed with Forest, and Pfizer's calcium channel blocker Norvasc (amlodipine) for hypertension. DS filed the NDA in November and plans on launching the product this fall after amlodipine's patent expires (² Also see "Daiichi Sankyo Submits Benicar/Amlodipine Fixed-Dose Combination To FDA" - Pink Sheet, 28 November, 2006.).

Also in FY-07, the firm is planning on gaining approval of a type 2 diabetes indication for its lipid-lowering therapy WelChol (colesevelam). If the sNDA, which was announced in January, is approved, colesevelam would become the first LDL-lowering medication also indicated for improving glycemic control (³ Also see "Daiichi Sankyo Submits WelChol sNDA For Diabetes Indication" - Pink Sheet, 2 January, 2007.).

In FY-08, DS plans on releasing the blood clotting agent prasugrel, which it has partnered with Lilly.

DS' late-stage pipeline includes the Phase II/III PPAR agonist for diabetes, rivoglitazone. In Phase II, the firm also has the oncologic DJ-927, the anticoagulant (Factor Xa inhibitor) DU-176b and the FBPase inhibitor CS-917 for diabetes. Earlier this month, the firm announced it was dropping development work on the Phase II KAI-9803, for acute myocardial infarction, and returning rights to its partner, South San Francisco-based KAI Pharmaceuticals.

In addition to WelChol, DS' marketed products also include Benicar HCT (olmesartan/hydrochlorothizide), the quinolone antibiotic Floxin OTIC (ofloxacin otic solution) and Evoxac (cevimeline) for the treatment of dry mouth in patients with Sjogren's Syndrome.

- Jonathan M. Block (j.block@elsevier.com)

Daiichi Sankyo Eyes U.S. Expansion With Major Sales Force Boost

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