Lotus Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (“Lotus” or “the Company”, TWSE ticker: 1795.TT) and Finland headquartered Orion Corporation today announced that they have entered into an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement on 2 branded products indicated for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, Stalevo® and Comtan®, in the Asia Pacific region. The agreement provides full sales and marketing control over the brands in basically every major Asian market including Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Parkinson’s disease market is worth approximately US$1.04 billion across Asia in 2018 and is estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 6.8%, reaching US$ 1.44 billion by 2023 according to Market Data Forecast. Proprietary product Stalevo® (active pharmaceutical ingredients: levodopa, carbidopa, entacapone) and Comtan® (active pharmaceutical ingredients: Entacapone) have been patented and developed by Orion and are among the most frequently prescribed medications for this patient group.
Commenting on the transaction, Lotus General Manager Petar Vazharov said:
In executing our two-pronged strategy, we continue to strengthen and expand our Asian presence by investing in fastest growing therapeutic domains. CNS is undoubtedly one of the key growth areas and Parkinson's disease drugs are one of Orion's largest family of product offerings. By entering Parkinson’s disease market based on the cooperation with Orion, we are confident that Lotus shall repeat its successes in Aclasta®, Evista® and Mercilon®, and shall continue to deliver sustainable growth by diversifying our portfolio with Branded and Proprietary products.
We are pleased to have Lotus as our partner. The collaboration ensures that Orion’s established Parkinson’s products continue to be available for the patients in the respective Asian markets. We continue the work to develop our distribution network also in other geographical areas
Upon transferring the MA, the deal is expected to be closed in the 3rd quarter of 2020.