Eurofarma partners with Eisai to bring insomnia drug to Brazil

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The drug, which will begin to be marketed in the second half of this year, will compete with so-called Z-drugs such as zolpidem, the best-known medication in the class. In 2022, when tighter sales restrictions were imposed on zolpidem, including a requirement for a special blue prescription, about 23 million tablets were sold in Brazil, according to the country’s health regulator, Anvisa.

“It’s a drug that was approved by the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] six years ago and has performed well in the 28 countries where it is already marketed. It belongs to a new class and has fewer next-day side effects than Z-drugs,” said João Siffert, Eurofarma’s vice president of innovation. Dayvigo, which was approved by Anvisa in September last year, will reach pharmacies at an average price of R$200.

Eurofarma already markets other insomnia treatments, including zolpidem. “There are now solutions for different profiles of insomnia patients, from well-established options to the most important innovation in sleep medicine in decades,” Siffert said.

The drugmaker does not disclose how much insomnia treatments contribute to its overall business. The market as a whole grew 9% to R$1.36 billion in the 12 months through June.

Eurofarma ended the first half with net revenue of R$6.1 billion, up 5.9% from the same period last year.

Under the partnership, the Brazilian drugmaker will be responsible for marketing, distribution, and promotion. According to Siffert, the company will undertake a major physician outreach and education campaign because the drug belongs to a new therapeutic class.

“It is the first drug that acts to both induce and maintain sleep, unlike other medications that generally have mechanisms to induce sleep but do not act on the brain’s wakefulness system,” Siffert said.

According to the Health Ministry, 31.7% of Brazilians have insomnia problems and 20% sleep fewer than six hours a night. This year, insomnia was classified as a chronic disease in Brazil, in line with the World Health Organization’s classification.

Sleep problems have worsened in Brazil and around the world since the pandemic, and studies are examining whether they may be among the long-term effects of Covid-19.

When difficulty sleeping occurs at least three times a week for a minimum of three months, it can lead to fatigue, difficulty concentrating, and irritability, according to scientific studies.

This is Eurofarma’s second partnership with Japan’s Eisai, following their first agreement in 2016. In July, Eurofarma entered another partnership, this time with South Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals, to bring cenobamate, an epilepsy treatment sold under the brand name XCOPRI, to Brazil.

Last year, the Brazilian drugmaker partnered with Denmark’s Novo Nordisk to launch two brands of injectable biologic semaglutide in Brazil for the treatment of obesity and diabetes.

“These partnerships prompted Eisai to sign an agreement with us,” Siffert said. Partnerships with other drugmakers involving innovative medicines account for 30% of Eurofarma’s revenue.