Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) struck a deal with the U.S. division of Kowa Co. to co-promote and market Livalor, a statin developed in Japan, in the United States and Latin America, according to a release from the company.
Livalor is a Food & Drug Administration-approved drug used to treat high cholesterol, and Lilly plans to offer the drug as an alternative to Pfizer, Inc.’s (PFE) statin, Lipitor, the company said.
"We are pleased to partner with Kowa to help bring this new statin to market and provide patients a new option to help control their cholesterol," said John Lechleiter, Ph.D., Lilly chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. "Our co-promotion arrangement in the U.S. and licensing arrangement in Latin America will allow Lilly to expand our product offerings in the cardiovascular therapeutic area and more efficiently utilize our existing cardiovascular sales force."
Shares of Eli Lilly fell 17 cents or 0.47% in Wednesday’s session, closing at $35.94, but the stock was up 11 cents in after-hours trading.
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