We are pleased to announce that Teikoku Seiyaku Co., Ltd. (hereinafter, "Teikoku Seiyaku") has decided to promote educational activities in collaboration with ReqMed Company, Ltd (hereinafter, "ReqMed") to provide information about knee osteoarthritis and its treatment to patients with the disease in Japan.

ReqMed is developing a subcutaneous injection formulation for knee osteoarthritis (hereinafter, the "Drug") containing sodium pentosan polysulfate (NaPPS) as the active ingredient. Teikoku Seiyaku and ReqMed signed a master sales agreement in 2024 for the exclusive rights to market the Drug for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis in Japan. In this joint awareness initiative, the two companies will work together to disseminate information to educate the public about the importance of understanding knee osteoarthritis and its treatment, and will proactively provide useful information to patients.

Ms. Misako Fujioka, President & CEO of Teikoku Seiyaku, said, “Teikoku Seiyaku has provided many topical anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs in the field of orthopedics. We are confident that the Drug, which is being developed by ReqMed, will become a new treatment option for knee osteoarthritis, for which treatment options are limited. Through this joint awareness campaign and marketing alliance with ReqMed, we will contribute to extending the healthy life expectancy of each and every patient with knee osteoarthritis, and especially to improving the treatment environment for knee osteoarthritis, where significant unmet needs remain."

Dr. Tadashi Matsumoto, President & CEO of ReqMed, said, "ReqMed's motto is to provide patients with medicines they request. Knee osteoarthritis significantly reduces the quality of life (QOL) of patients. With the aging of our population, we believe it is important to have a full range of treatment options for knee osteoarthritis in order to maintain a healthy life expectancy, and we are committed to developing the Drug for early approval."

Teikoku Seiyaku and ReqMed hope to improve the QOL of more patients and help more healthcare professionals and caregivers through this activity.

Overview of NaPPS

The Drug is a disease-modifying treatment under development by ReqMed for knee osteoarthritis used as a subcutaneous injection, and the active ingredient is sodium pentosan polysulfate (NaPPS). Previous research has suggested that NaPPS inhibits the progression of knee osteoarthritis by reducing chronic inflammation and cartilage destruction, and ReqMed has just started Phase III clinical trials in Japan. In addition, NaPPS has already been approved and marketed as veterinary drugs (for the treatment of osteoarthritis in dogs and horses) in Japan and overseas, and there are high expectations for its therapeutic effects.

Teikoku Seiyaku Overview

Teikoku Seiyaku is a pharmaceutical company that specializes in the fields of "pain control" and "development of transdermally absorbed drugs" based on technologies cultivated through the development of anti-inflammatory and analgesic patches over many years. With respect to pain control, we are developing analgesics, including medical narcotics, under the slogan of "Relief of human pain," and with respect to transdermally absorbed drugs, we are developing not only topical anti-inflammatory and analgesic patches, but also systemic transdermal patches. We will continue to develop pharmaceuticals that improve people's quality of life by utilizing these technologies.

ReqMed Overview

ReqMed is a drug development venture company that is taking on the challenge of developing "Required Medicine for all who request it" while staying close to patients. In the field of drug development, ReqMed specializes in the field of inborn errors of metabolism, which are designated as intractable diseases or specified chronic diseases in childhood, but the number of patients is extremely small and the development of therapeutic drugs has lagged behind. Considering the aging society, we also specialize in locomotive syndrome, especially knee osteoarthritis and degenerative central nervous system diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

For further information, please contact:
Teikoku Seiyaku Co., Ltd. General Affairs and HR Department,
TEL：+81-879-25-2221