For Immediate Release

Company name: DAIICHI SANKYO COMPANY, LIMITED
Representative: Takashi Shoda, President and Representative Director
(Code no.: 4568, First Section, Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya Stock Exchanges)
Please address inquiries to Toshiaki Sai, General Manager,
Corporate Communications Department
Telephone: +81-3-6225-1126
http://www.daiichisankyo.com/

Announcement of Approval Application in Japan for Manufacturing and Marketing of SUN Y7017 (Memantine) for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Type Dementia

TOKYO, Japan (February 8, 2010) - Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited (hereafter; Daiichi Sankyo), announced today that its subsidiary, ASUBIO PHARMA CO., LTD. (Head Office, Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director, Seiichi Yokoyama), submitted a New Drug Application in Japan for the manufacturing and marketing of SUN Y7017 (generic name: Memantine hydrocholoride), which was developed for the treatment of Alzheimer's type Dementia (AD).

SUN Y7017 is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist developed by Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH (Head Office: Germany). This drug was approved for use in the treatment of AD by the European EMEA in 2002 and by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2003. As of January 2010, this drug is marketed in more than 60 countries around the world, and is positioned as a standard care for AD.

By offering a new option with a distinct mechanism for the treatment of AD in Japan, Daiichi Sankyo expects to contribute to reducing the unmet needs of patients, their families, and medical professionals.