Eisai Co., Ltd. announced today that its Australian pharmaceutical sales subsidiary Eisai Australia Pty. Ltd. (Eisai Australia) has launched Halaven (eribulin mesylate) in the country. The product is the first to be marketed exclusively by Eisai in Australia. 

Halaven is an anticancer agent discovered and developed by Eisai. It is currently approved in more than 55 countries worldwide including Japan, the United States, and in Europe. In Australia, Halaven has received approval from the Australian Department of Health and Aging for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer who have progressed after at least two chemotherapy regimens for advanced disease. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline and a taxane. 

Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed type of cancer in the world. In Australia, breast cancer affects an estimated 150,000 people, with approximately 15,000 new cases of the disease being diagnosed each year. In addition, global studies have reported that approximately 40% of the patients diagnosed with early stages of breast cancer will go on to develop locally advanced or metastatic disease.

In January 2006, Eisai established Eisai Australia to commence operation in Australia, the largest country in Oceania and 14th largest pharmaceutical market in the world.

With the launch of Halaven, Eisai is committed to delivering a new treatment option to as many patients with advanced breast cancer as possible, while enhancing its product lineup and marketing framework as it seeks to increase the benefits it provides to patients and their families across Australia.

For more details, go to: http://www.eisai.com/news/news201458.html