ASKA Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced the termination of the License Agreement of March 15, 2006 that had previously been entered into by Takeda, ASKA, KI Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(*) and BioNumerik Pharmaceuticals, Inc. with respect to the investigational new drug known as Tavocept(TM) for the territory of Japan. Tavocept(TM) (generic name: dimesna) is an investigational new drug with potential for oncology and non-oncology indications that was originated and developed by BioNumerik.

Takeda decided to terminate this License Agreement in view of its global product strategy and in connection with the termination of a separate agreement on Tavocept(TM) between Takeda and BioNumerik for the U.S. and Canada territories, which was announced on October 24, 2006.

KI Pharma and ASKA will continue to be involved with Tavocept(TM) development in the territory of Japan, which now is in the phase 3 stage.

KI Pharma is a joint venture formed by ASKA and BioNumerik.

About Tavocept(TM)

Tavocept(TM) is an investigational new drug with potential for oncology and non-oncology indications that was originated and developed by BioNumerik. Tavocept has potential applicability in multiple therapeutic areas including chemotherapy induced neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, protection against toxicity from radiation therapy, lymphedema and other potential medical indications.

About ASKA

ASKA, located in Tokyo, Japan, is a research and development (R&D) oriented company, which contributes to the society by developing and providing innovative pharmaceutical products with concentrating its management resources to the specific therapeutic areas. Additional information about ASKA, is available through its corporate website, aska-pharma.jp/english/index.html.

About KI Pharma

KI Pharma, located in Tokyo, Japan, is a joint venture formed by ASKA and BioNumerik that is aimed at developing a broad portfolio of new compounds to distribute and market in Japan.

About Takeda Pharmaceutical

Takeda Pharmaceutical, located in Osaka, Japan, is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. Additional information about Takeda is available through its corporate website, takeda/index-e.html.

Takeda Pharmaceutical
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