Eisai China, Inc. (ECI), the wholly owned China subsidiary of Japan pharma Eisai Co., will repack and sell Alpha-Lipon 300 STADA®, an alpha-lipoic acid. Alpha-Lipon 300 STADA is a treatment for diabetic neuropathic pain developed by STADA Arzneimittel AG and currently sold through the company’s sales subsidiary Health Vision Enterprise Ltd.

Available in China since 2005, Alpha-Lipon 300 STADA treats diabetic neuropathic pain through an antioxidant effect, which reduces overproduction of oxygen and normalizes glucose metabolism.

For diabetes patients, Eisai already markets Methycobal(R), which treats peripheral nerve disorder, and it is filing for approval of Glufast(R), a rapid-acting insulin secretagogue (a secretagogue is a substance that causes another substance to be secreted).

ECI began promoting Alpha-Lipon 300 STADA in China on August 1. ECI will also apply for approval to repack the product at its Suzhou plant.  Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Health Vision, which is headquartered in Hong Kong, obtains marketing approval in China of pharmaceutical products developed by STADA and other medium-sized Western pharmaceutical companies. It also conducts sales and marketing activities in China. Currently, Health Vision focuses on products in the respiratory, ENT and surgery therapeutic sectors.