We partner with companies that have proven capabilities in cardiovascular medicine, and that share our passion for supporting patients who need help lowering their bad cholesterol. Our medicines offer new options for patients struggling with their LDL-C, and we believe partnering with strong commercial organizations around the world is the best way to enable broad access to our medicines globally.
Current collaborations
Our established partnerships to commercialize bempedoic acid and its combination with ezetimibe in Europe and Japan represent our largest agreements for these geographic areas.
We have partnered with Daiichi Sankyo Europe to commercialize our two marketed products in the European Economic Area and Turkey with the signing of the first amendment to the existing agreement. The agreement includes up to $900 million in milestone payments plus significant royalties. Additionally, Nilemdo® (bempedoic acid) Tablet and Nustendi® (bempedoic acid and ezetimibe) tablets are approved in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Luxemburg, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Slovakia and Czech Republic. Continued launches are planned throughout the European Union.
In April 2021, we further expanded our partnership with Daiichi Sankyo, granting Daiichi Sankyo exclusive commercialization rights to bempedoic acid and the bempedoic acid/ezetimibe combination tablet in S. Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong (products launched in September 2023), Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Macao, Cambodia and Myanmar. The agreement included a $30.0 million upfront payment, up to $175.0 million in milestone payments, plus royalties on sales in these geographies. The terms allow for potential expansion across geographies in the Middle East and Latin America.
In Japan, we are partnering with Otsuka Pharmaceutical Company to continue to develop and commercialize bempedoic acid and its combination with ezetimibe. The total value of the agreement is $600 million including milestones and development costs, and Otsuka will pay Esperion a significant royalty on all net sales. Otsuka will manage all ongoing development, regulatory approvals and commercialization activities in Japan.
Partnering opportunities
Esperion continues to build on our success with bempedoic acid in our Next Gen program which is focused on developing ATP citrate lyase inhibitors (ACLYi). New insights into the structure and function of ACLY fully enables rational drug design and the opportunity to develop highly potent and specific inhibitors with allosteric mechanisms. We are seeking to accelerate some of these parallel programs with strategic partnerships.
Reach out to our business development team to learn more about current partnership opportunities with Esperion.