2019 – A Transformative Year for Takeda

This year has been a truly remarkable one for Takeda and has been capped with the prestigious "Pharma Company of the Year" award by leading pharma industry news outlet Scrip. Andy Plump, President of Research and Development, along with fellow Takeda Executive Team members, Mwana Lugogo, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, and Julie Kim, President of Plasma-Derived Therapies Business Unit, was at the December 4 ceremony in London to receive the award on behalf of the company, which was recognized for its transformation through the acquisition of Shire, its focus on core therapeutic areas and advancement of its clinical pipeline internally and through external partnerships.

A compelling pipeline for a sustainable future
The best indicator of any R&D-driven pharmaceutical company's health is its pipeline – and Takeda has a diverse and dynamic pipeline that is among the richest and most exciting in the industry, targeting areas of unmet need where few or no therapies currently exist.

As of November 2019, Takeda has 40 new molecular entity (NME) clinical stage assets – 36 of which are in Takeda's focus areas of oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience and gastroenterology. What's more, Takeda has diversified its research pipeline beyond small molecules with around 70% of projects now focused on other modalities such as biologics and cell and gene therapies with transformative potential.

R&D Days promote Takeda’s near and long-term R&D strategy

Takeda President & CEO Christophe Weber highlighted the vitality of Takeda's R&D engine at events in New York and Tokyo. The company also hosted a focused event for its Plasma Derived Therapies (PDT) business, in Covington, Georgia in mid-November. These investor events—the first since the Shire acquisition—showcase the incredible potential of Takeda's pipeline over the next five years and beyond.

Underlining that Takeda would be guided by its values of Takeda-ism and Patient–Trust–Reputation–Business, Christophe said, "Doing the right thing for the patient always comes first. The more we innovate, the more trust we will build with society and enhance the reputation of this industry."

The investor events clearly laid out Takeda's near and longer-term R&D strategy which will deliver in two distinct waves.  

Wave 1 centers on 14 global brands with new indications and market expansions, as well as 12 new molecular entities (NMEs) with the potential for 14 new launches driving near-term growth to FY2024.

Wave 2 charts a course for sustained growth from FY2025 and beyond based on more than 20 programs across Takeda's core therapeutic areas that are designed to provide transformative or curative potential for targeted populations with high unmet need. Many of these programs will leverage new platform capabilities in cell therapy, gene therapy and data sciences.

Speaking at the R&D Day, Andy Plump summed up Takeda's potential: "We have the opportunity to change healthcare on a global scale ... We have great people and an incredibly high-performing culture, a culture of empowerment, speed and agility."

Employees across R&D and all of Takeda are advancing our near-term catalysts while building next-generation platforms to sustain long-term growth. They are working urgently so that we may fulfill our mission to deliver better health and brighter futures to even more patients around the world.