HATFIELD, England, December 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Eisai welcomes the launch of the UK Life Sciences Strategy. We are encouraged by the efforts to continue and increase the UK's position as a world leader in public health provision, inward research and commercial investment.  This strategy takes the UK closer to placing patients and better outcomes at the heart of the UK's National Health Service (NHS) through focussing on creating partnership between service providers and the life science industry to improve uptake of innovative medical treatment and national guidance. As a leader in UK investment in development and access to innovative new cancer treatments, particularly focussed in women's oncology - we welcome the opportunities for expanding patient recruitment in the UK and the benefit to patients for earlier access to medicines from the proposals made today.

This launch reinforces the UK government's commitment to creating a positive business environment through progressive business focussed incentives and improving adherence to national clinical guidance from all levels of the NHS, reducing duplicate value assessments and unequal formulary restriction. Measures to improve access and uptake of new medicines currently denied to patients through lack of NICE evaluation, should however be applied to all innovative new medicines regardless of whether they are evaluated by NICE. If these initiatives are effectively implemented, thus making the NHS a hotbed of innovation, then these solutions can set the life sciences industry in the UK forward on a course for playing its part in driving long term growth of the economy. Eisai welcomes the recognition of the importance of closer partnership between the NHS, industry and academia and additional programmes thereof. Future improvement to the industry in the UK will be centred on improving patient access to innovation and a pricing structure for new medicines that acknowledges the investment necessary for their discovery and development.

"Eisai welcomes the new measures that will maintain and encourage inward investment to the UK, through better valuing the contribution of research-based pharmaceutical companies to bring innovative new medicines to the UK and increase the benefits of healthcare to patients." States Gary Hendler, President and CEO of UK-headquartered Eisai Europe Limited.

Eisai is an example of the potential of long term inward investment from research-based pharmaceutical companies. As a part of our continuing commitment to the UK, Eisai has recently filed with the EMA, the Eisai UK developed, novel, E2007 (perampanel) a potential treatment for seizures related to epilepsy.

In 2009, the Eisai Knowledge Centre (EKC) was opened in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. A £100 million investment, one of the largest ever made by a Japanese pharmaceutical company in the UK. The EKC is one of only four knowledge centres worldwide and is a focus for further internal investment. The EKC houses advanced manufacturing and packaging of Eisai product exporting to Europe and globally. The research centre on the site houses state of the art facilities for world class research into neurology targets. Eisai has a long standing relationship with the world-renowned University College London (UCL). Eisai is conducting over 25 neurology and oncology clinical trials in the UK. The EKC is also Eisai's centre for commercial and market access for our innovative medicines into Europe.

Notes to Editors

About Eisai

Eisai is one of the world's leading R&D-based pharmaceutical companies that has defined its corporate mission as "giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides," which we call human health care (hhc).

Eisai concentrates its R&D activities in three key areas:

• Neuroscience: Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, neuropathic pain, epilepsy, depression, etc
• Oncology: Anticancer therapies; tumour regression, tumour suppression, antibodies, etc and Supportive cancer therapies; pain relief, nausea, etc
• Vascular/Immunological Reaction: Acute coronary syndrome, atherothrombotic disease, sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, etc

With operations in the U.S., Asia, Europe and its domestic home market of Japan, we employ more than 11,000 people worldwide. In Europe, Eisai undertakes sales and marketing operations in over 20 markets, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Iceland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and the Netherlands.

For further information please visit our web site http://www.eisai.com

SOURCE Eisai