Recipharm, the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has entered into a long-term agreement with Sato Pharmaceutical Co. for the commercial manufacture and delivery of Emla Patch to Japan.

Sato, based in Tokyo and founded in 1915, provides effective, safe and high quality products. Emla Patch is used as a local anaesthetic product and will be launched under the business area of ethical pharmaceuticals at Sato.

Recipharm’s facility in Karlskoga, Sweden, will produce and deliver to Sato. After a successful launch in Japan, it is expected that the annual volumes of Emla Patch to Sato will be a significant addition to the present production at the Karlskoga facility.

Ingela Palmkvist, General Manager at Recipharm in Karlskoga, said: “We first established a business relationship with Sato in 2012 and this new supply agreement extends our partnership further. We are looking forward to the launch in Japan and cooperating with Sato in developing the business, to the benefit of both companies.”

CDMO Recipharm, which employs some 5,000 workers, offers manufacturing services of pharmaceuticals in various dosage forms, production of clinical trial material and APIs, and pharmaceutical product development. The company manufactures several hundred different products to customers ranging from big pharma to smaller research and development companies.

Sato Pharmaceuticals has branches in Europe, the U.S., and Canada and focuses on OTC and ethical pharmaceutical products. The company celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2015.

EMLA is licensed to Sato in Japan and its trademark is used under license from AstraZeneca.

(Source: Recipharm)