The FINANCIAL — Osaka, Japan, August 22, 2011 – Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced today its selection as a recipient of an approximately 23.9 billion yen government subsidy for which it had applied in March of this year.
The Japanese government is offering this subsidy publicly under its secondary project for advanced commercial production facility in order to support the investment associated with the development and production of new influenza vaccines.
Last year, Takeda and Baxter International Inc. entered into a license agreement directed to Baxter’s proprietary Vero cell culture-based influenza vaccine technology. Baxter is a leader in the field of cell culture-based vaccine technology and one of the few companies in the world with a licensed cell culture-based pandemic influenza vaccine.
Takeda was selected last year as a recipient of a subsidy that the Japanese government offered publicly under its primary supplementary budget in order to support the investment associated with the development and production of pandemic influenza vaccines. Having received this subsidy, Takeda initiated the development of Baxter’s technology for influenza vaccines for licensure in Japan. In particular, Takeda introduced into its experimental production facilities installed in Hikari Plant (Hikari City, Yamaguchi Prefecture) the Vero cell culture-based technology and purification techniques established by Baxter for influenza vaccine production.
Now, having been selected as a recipient of the subsidy under the secondary project, Takeda will continue the development work it had commenced and make preparations for full-scale manufacturing, including constructing a commercial production facility at the Hikari Plant, with the goal to obtain a new drug approval by the end of fiscal 2013. Takeda was selected as a recipient of this subsidy due to the potential contributions the company could make to the stable supply of new influenza vaccines in the domestic market.
“Takeda has a proven track record of providing a stable supply of pediatric vaccines over the past sixty years,” said Yasuchika Hasegawa, President & CEO of Takeda. “Takeda will fulfill its social mission as a pharmaceutical manufacturer, in collaboration with Baxter, by accelerating the establishment of the production facility and the supply system of new influenza vaccines in Japan, which will enable us to deliver these vaccines to society as early as possible. In the medium-to-long term, Takeda will strive for the development of vaccines which meet unmet needs and have high social demand, such as combination vaccines, high value-added vaccines using new technologies, and the supply of combination vaccines to the Asian and emerging markets.”
The financial impact of the subsidy is incorporated in Takeda’s fiscal 2012 financial outlook of its 2011-2013 Mid-Range Plan, thus, there is no effect on Takeda’s fiscal 2011 financial outlook.
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