Better Health, Brighter Future
Takeda’s Transformation: The Next Chapter
Takeda’s President & CEO Christophe Weber recently spoke at the 37th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference about Takeda’s acquisition of Shire. During the presentation, Weber shared his vision of the “new Takeda” and offered his heartfelt perspective on this hugely significant moment in our rich history, noting: “This is a very unique deal and a compelling acquisition that will increase our long-term competitiveness. Our intent is to be a truly global, values-based, R&D-driven biopharmaceutical leader. We are extremely excited and extremely pleased.”
A successful deal
Successful transformation requires unity, so we are thrilled that the Shire acquisition has been achieved with the backing of our people, notably an overwhelming majority of shareholders within both Takeda and Shire. Incredible hard work from both organizations, highly competitive financing, and smooth regulatory approvals have resulted in an astonishingly quick turnaround of just eight months – several months earlier than expected – from deal announcement to deal close.
Takeda’s key strengths
Growth and transformation ensure that Takeda’s global footprint and leading position in Japan and the US continue to expand, enabling our highly innovative medicines to reach approximately 80 countries/regions. Our enhanced R&D engine facilitates a more global, robust, and modality-diverse pipeline. Furthermore, by focusing on the five core business areas of Oncology, Gastroenterology, Neuroscience, Rare Diseases, and Plasma-Derived Therapies – representing about 75% of total sales – we can prioritize breakthrough innovation while greatly extending and deepening our partnership network.
Values-based
Weber reaffirmed his commitment to Takeda’s core values of Takeda-ism: Integrity, Fairness, Honesty, and Perseverance, stressing the importance of prioritizing Patient, Trust, Reputation, and Business, in this order. Much of Takeda’s success originates from our unchanged values. These will continue to be the compass that guides Takeda during our transformative journey, as well as the fundamental anchor grounding our integration.
A smooth integration
After months of close cooperation, we are excited to welcome our new colleagues and to announce that integration planning is already well underway. The appointment of Takeda’s new executive team - comprised of 11 different nationalities – brings a wealth of diversity and experience that ensures best-in-class governance. With this winning team, alongside the 200 leaders already nominated, we expect a quick and smooth integration that will sustain business momentum with minimal disruption.
As Weber concluded, this pivotal moment in Takeda’s history brings with it a unique opportunity to accelerate our transformation journey and further strengthen our global position as a biopharmaceutical leader. In 2019, we will see the execution of our new business model as we continue to discover, develop, and deliver highly innovative medicines to patients globally.