BOSTON, March 27, 2006 — Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc. has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Kissei Pharmaceutical for the exclusive right to develop and commercialize Glufast® (mitiglinide calcium hydrate) in the United States, Canada and Latin America. Currently marketed in Japan, Glufast is an insulin secretagogue that lowers post-meal glucose levels by improving the body's own ability to produce insulin. Glufast has undergone extensive clinical development demonstrating the product's ability to safely and effectively treat Type II diabetes, which affects 14 million patients in the U.S.
Goodwin Procter attorneys Kingsley Taft and Shaun Ryan represented Elixir Pharmaceuticals in this matter.