Better Health, Brighter Future
Responsibly Translate Science into Highly Innovative, Life-changing Medicines and Vaccines
At Takeda, we strive to help patients and their loved ones – to renew hope and offer promise. Drug discovery is challenging but we, along with the global scientific community, are ushering in a new age of innovation. We are inspired by the strength and determination of patients and are determined to support them through our work.
Our research and development (R&D) pipeline and global brands
Our world-class R&D engine is focused on developing medicines and vaccines that can make a critical difference in the lives of people around the world. Takeda focuses its R&D efforts on four core therapeutic areas: Oncology, Rare Genetics and Hematology, Neuroscience and Gastroenterology, with targeted investments in Plasma Derived Therapies and Vaccines
Over the last five years, Takeda has undertaken a significant R&D transformation. We set a high bar for innovation and cultivated external collaborations and strong research capabilities in order to bring life-changing therapies to patients worldwide. As a result of our sustained efforts and investments, we expect significant late-stage R&D pipeline momentum in the coming years, from which we target a series of new drug approvals. Among other new launches, we are supporting the rollout of new vaccines to aid the urgent battle against COVID-19 in Japan, and dengue around the world. We are also increasing our R&D investment to support the potential we see in our pipeline. Having transformed our internal R&D engine, we seek to accelerate innovation and position Takeda at the intersection of health, technology and business growth for the long term and for the benefit of patients around the world.
Our Approach to Responsible Innovation
Responsible innovation is rooted in how we advance our science and business to develop and deliver the best potential solutions for patients and populations. We continuously consider and weigh the consequences of our choices with patients, society and the planet in mind. Our responsible innovation principles include doing what’s right for the patient, shaping a trusted and transparent ecosystem, anticipating the long-term consequences of our choices and developing a sustainable business.
The following priorities have helped define our focus in 2020:
The Takeda Ethics Advisory Council (TEAC)
The TEAC was established in recognition of the fast pace of innovation in science and medicine and emerging ethical challenges. It is comprised of a diverse group of professionals that include prominent external ethics experts and selected Takeda leaders. The primary responsibility of the TEAC is to consider emerging ethics topics and provide advice; informing Takeda’s development of robust and principled positions and guidance on these issues.
Bring world-class science and partnerships to deliver patient breakthroughs
Our strong R&D capabilities are complemented by our extensive partnership network. Our R&D is modality-agnostic and draws on expertise from our strategic academic and industry partnerships. Together with our partners, our goal is to discover, develop and deliver medicines with transformative or curative potential. Our Center for External Innovation is designed to harness the power of collaboration and help drive pipeline innovation and diversification across our therapeutic area units. We’re focused on early stage investments through a variety of deal structures designed with aligned incentives to leverage what we do best, together.
Health disparities and inequities across the health care continuum, including clinical research, are pressing issues across the biopharmaceutical industry
At Takeda, we are committed to creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive culture, not only within our own walls and our communities, but also across our clinical trials.
We engage in multidisciplinary, cross-company and cross-industry collaborations to help our treatments reach more patients. Our approach enables us to better generate evidence that reflects the patients and patient sub-groups most likely to use a medicine if approved, providing more accurate data and insights to inform regulatory submissions, future trials and, for approved treatments, potentially more efficacious and safer utilization.
Enabling patients to lead the way
As a values-based organization that puts patients first, we are constantly working to ensure that the patient perspective informs our work and fuels our innovation strategy. Our commitment to building a partnership and dialogue with patients has a direct impact on our drug development process, and we aim to incorporate the patient perspective throughout, and long after, the treatment development journey. We create new solutions based on patient feedback and use a variety of digital tools for checkups, health monitoring and other aspects of patient treatment, to make participation in clinical trials as safe as possible.
Prioritizing the high quality, uninterrupted supply and delivery of our medicines and vaccines
Takeda works with approximately 41,000 third-party suppliers around the world for the materials and services that are needed for the production and distribution of our medicines and vaccines. Managing these supplier relationships and the flow of goods and services through our value chain is critical to the quality and safety of our medicines — and the well-being of patients. The world is increasing in complexity as it experiences a global pandemic, rising geopolitical tensions and economic instability. We recognize the importance of innovation — embracing technology, especially artificial intelligence (AI), to manage a complex supply chain in an agile and sustainable way.
