NDA Submitted for Azilsartan Medoxomil

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) announced today that Takeda Global Research & Development Center, Inc., U.S., submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for azilsartan medoxomil , an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) under investigation for the treatment of hypertension. Discovered by Takeda, azilsartan medoxomil is designed to lower blood pressure by blocking the action of a vasopressor hormone, angiotensin II.

"The NDA submission for azilsartan medoxomil is built upon a robust data package and is a significant milestone for Takeda," said Nancy Joseph-Ridge, M.D., general manager of Takeda's Pharmaceutical Development Division. "We are proud to build upon our global expertise in the cardiovascular therapeutic area with this filing, and believe this compound, once approved, will provide an important treatment option for hypertensive patients and the health care providers who manage them."

The NDA submission was supported by seven phase 3 clinical trials involving more than 5,900 patients. The safety and efficacy of azilsartan medoxomil was studied for initial therapy as a once-daily oral monotherapy or in combination with other antihypertensive medications, including chlorthalidone and amlodipine, and was also studied in comparison to olmesartan medoxomil, valsartan and ramipril. Results from five of the pivotal phase 3 studies will be presented May 1-4, 2010, at the American Society of Hypertension Inc. (ASH), 25th Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition in New York.

About Azilsartan Medoxomil

Discovered by Takeda, azilsartan medoxomil, also known as TAK-491, is an angiotensin II receptor blocker currently in development for the treatment of hypertension, or high blood pressure, either used alone or in combination with other classes of antihypertensive agents. Angiotensin II, a vasopressor, is a hormone that naturally exists within the body and plays a key role in cardiovascular function. The hormone induces contraction, or tightening, of blood vessels and thus plays an important role in mediating hypertension. The most commonly reported treatment-related adverse reactions (>/=1%) in phase 3 clinical trials were dizziness (2.1%), increased blood creatine phosphokinase (1.1%) and diarrhea (1.0%).