Takeda seeks U.S. approval of hypertension drug

Takeda Pharmaceutical (4502.T), Japan’s largest drugmaker, said on Wednesday that it has applied for regulatory approval to market its experimental hypertension drug TAK-491 in the United States.

Takeda, facing a series of looming patent expirations on its mainstay drugs, has positioned TAK-491 as a successor to its hypertension drug Blopress, whose worldwide sales totalled 230 billion yen ($2.5 billion) in the year to March 2009.

Blopress will lose patent protection in the United States in 2012.

Once it is granted approval, Takeda plans to sell TAK-491 in the United States on its own, Takeda spokesman Hisashi Tokinoya said. AstraZeneca (AZN.L) currently sells Blopress in the United States and all other markets except for Japan under a licensing agreement.

Shares of Takeda fell 1.8 percent to 3,930 yen in early trading on Wednesday, in line with the broader drug sector .IPHAM.T.

Takeda had revenue of 1.5 trillion yen in the year to March 2009. It will report its results for the just-ended business year on May 12. ($1=93.09 Yen) (Reporting by Yumiko Nishitani; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

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TOKYO, April 28 (Reuters)