Daewoong Pharmaceutical said that it has agreed to promote Lundbeck Korea’s Ebixa, an Alzheimer's disease treatment, jointly with the maker.

Under the accord, the two companies will promote and market the treatment at general hospitals and clinics.

Ebixa's active ingredient memantine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NDMA) receptor antagonist that lessens symptoms by inhibiting excessive NMDA receptor stimulation in the brain of Alzheimer's patients.

When NMDA receptors involved in memory retention and learning are continuously activated by glutamate, normal signal transduction is difficult and abnormalities in brain functions, including cognitive function, appear. Memantine, an NMDA receptor antagonist, acts to normalize excessive signaling of glutamate and improve Alzheimer's disease symptoms.

"Daewoong's unique four-step marketing strategy and the sales force will lead to the expansion of market share for Ebixa, which will help more moderate-severe Alzheimer's patients," Daewoong Pharmaceutical CEO Jeon Seng-ho said. "Daewoong plans to continue expanding our portfolio in the area of the central nervous system so that it can contribute to the improvement of public health."

Lundbeck Korea CEO Oh Pil-soo also said, "Based on the capabilities and know-how accumulated at both companies, we will create a good therapeutic environment so that many Alzheimer's patients can enjoy a better quality of life."