Dive Brief:
- Takeda Pharmaceuticals will restructure its global operations to focus R&D on three therapeutic areas, and the same number of science hubs across Japan and the U.S, the company announced Friday.
- The restructuring will cost roughly $725 million spread across the next two fiscal years, and affect all its 10 global sites in some way. The company also noted it would begin the "consultation" process to close down its Cambridge, U.K. plant.
- Takeda will centralize its research operations to Shonan, Japan; San Diego, CA; and Boston, MA. The research hubs will focus in the newly designated core therapeutic areas of oncology, gastroenterology, and the central nervous systems. Takeda hopes to invite greater biotech collaboration through the strategic placements of the new research hubs.
Dive Insight:
The restructuring is part of an ongoing effort by Takeda CEO Christophe Weber to transform the centuries-old Japanese pharmaceutical company into a modern, global leader in the industry.
Friday's announcement is a step forward for this goal, as the company centralizes its research in both focus and location, providing the company with the ability to tap into the increasingly-important biotech startup industry.
“Our goal is to become the best R&D organization in our industry, but to deliver on this, we need to first build new capabilities and embrace new ways of working,” said Andy Plump, Takeda’s Chief Medical and Scientific Officer.
These new ways of working include a greater focus on acquisitions and research collaborations aimed at making the company globally competitive. So while Takeda boasts an "exciting early-stage pipeline," the company's late-stage pipeline is more limited. As a result, the company appears to be looking towards R&D collaboration agreements and potential acquisitions to boost its financial potential.
Among the transformation goals outlined in the company presentation, Takeda said it is looking at new business models include joint ventures, forming a new biotechnology company, and an entrepreneurship venture program.
In addition to the new projects, the Shonan facility will open a new "innovation research park" supplemented by similar collaboration centers around the city. The Boston and San Diego facilities will also receive expanded resources and new lines of focus—providing the company with useful hubs nearby the lead U.S. biotech communities in Cambridge and San Francisco.
Takeda expects the transformation will save the company roughly $175 million in annual savings, a sum which will be continually re-invested into pipeline products, according to the company presentation.