For Immediate Release

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/

FIRST LAUNCH OF EFIENT® WORLDWIDE TAKES PLACE IN THE UK

TOKYO, Japan, and INDIANAPOLIS, IN. (April 8, 2009) - Daiichi Sankyo Company,Limited (TSE: 4568) and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced today that they have launched Efient® (prasugrel) in the UK.

Efient® is a new antiplatelet agent that was granted marketing authorization by the European Commission on February 25, 2009, for the reduction of atherothrombotic events in patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Efient® will be co-promoted in the UK by Daiichi Sankyo and Eli Lilly.

The approval of Efient® in the UK was based on the 13,608 patient TRITON trial. In this study, Efient® compared with clopidogrel bisulfate provided a 19% reduction in the primary composite endpoint of CVD, MI, or stroke (ARR - 2.2%; 11.5% vs. 9.4%). The risk of bleeding,including life-threatening and fatal bleeding, was higher in patients treated with Efient® compared with patients treated with clopidogrel bisulfate (2.2% vs. 1.7%).

Efient® was discovered by Daiichi Sankyo and its Japanese research partner, Ube Industries, Ltd, and co-developed by Daiichi Sankyo and Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY).