TAP Pharmaceutical Products

TAP Pharmaceuticals was formed in 1977 as a joint venture between the two global pharmaceutical companies, Abbott Laboratories and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. and was dissolved in 2008; its two most successful products were proton-pump inhibitor lansoprazole (Prevacid) and the prostate cancer drug, leuprorelin ((Lupron). The intention of the joint venture was to get products that Takeda had discovered developed, approved, and marketed in the US and Canada.

The company was established at a time when Japanese pharmaceutical companies were seeking partnerships to access the US market. These efforts were supported by the Japanese government at the time to help the national economy compete in higher technology, as countries like South Korea, Taiwan were beginning to catch up with Japan in commodity production. Japanese pharmaceutical companies were especially strong in the fields of generating analogs of known cephalosporin antibiotics, cancer drugs, and cardiovascular drugs.

The first products TAP file new drug applications for, were two cephalosporins, cefmenoxime (Cefmax) and cefsulodin (Cefonomil), estazolam for sleep disorders, and leuprorelin; leuprorelin was the first one approved, in 1985.

In 1998 Takeda established its own US R&D and sales force, for the diabetes drug pioglitazone (Actos).

In 2000, TAP's withdrew its new drug application for apomorphine (branded as "Uprima") as a treatment for erectile dysfunction after an FDA review panel raised questions about the drug's safety, due to many clinical trial subjects fainting after taking the drug.

In 2001, the US Department of Justice, states attorneys general, and TAP Pharmaceutical Products settled criminal and civil charges against TAP related to federal and state medicare fraud and illegal marketing of the drug leuprorelin. TAP paid a total of $875 million, which was a record high at the time.

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