Dive Brief:
- Beginning this fall, Pfizer Japan and Astellas Pharma will cease co-distribution and co-promotion of the hypertension drug Caduet in Japan. The companies have co-promoted the drug since 2009 and the decision marks an early termination to their agreement.
- Caduet (amlodipine/atorvastatin) is an oral combination of Norbasc (amlodipine) for treatment of hypertension and Lipitor (atorvastatin) for treatment of hypertension. Both Nobasc and Lipitor are Pfizer products.
- Co-promotion in Japan will end on October 1, while co-distribution will continue until March 31, 2015. The two companies will continue to co-promote Lipitor tablets, which are used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia.
Dive Insight:
According to Pharmaceutical Business Review, the agreement between Pfizer and Astellas for co-promotion of Caduet was supposed to end in July 2016. The deal is ending almost two years earlier than initially agreed upon. Although there has been limited commentary in news reports about why the agreement was terminated early, Pfizer's Q4 2013 of Caduet may provide a clue: The results for Caduet show a 12% drop in revenues, compared with Q4 2012, from $67 million to $55 million. This drop in revenues may be one reason that Pfizer has decided to reduce its investment in promoting Caduet, while continuing to co-promote Lipitor with Astellas.