Takeda Shows Signs Of Undergoing Corporate Shift In Decision-making

TOKYO - Takeda has incrementally made a number of organizational announcements in recent months hinting at a shift in the company's outlook to R&D investment and alliance-building in new markets.

In the past year, Takeda has brought in executives outside of Takeda to lead operations in China and India, supplemented its global advisory board with emerging markets expertise, and realigned its venture and global business development arms. In their totality, Takeda's actions appear to show a corporate willingness to rethink its approach to new markets and new technology.

On the technology front, Takeda expanded the scope of its venture group Takeda Research Investment, now called Takeda Ventures. TRI was tasked primarily with finding opportunities for the company in pre-IND, early-stage discovery activity, but Takeda Ventures gains the added responsibility of helping position Takeda into new business spaces. Takeda Ventures will target later-stage technologies that are complementary to the company's franchises and those that anticipate where the industry is going as a whole, according to Takeda Ventures President Graeme Martin.

In an interview with PharmAsia News, Martin pointed to potential examples of where Takeda needs to anticipate industry development, including diagnostics for all therapeutics, and the intersection between biology and IT. Upon announcing the expanded scope of the organization, Takeda said focus areas will include regenerative medicines, nucleic acid-targeted therapeutics, and novel technologies related to vaccine or antibody therapeutics.

While all corporate venture looks for business opportunities that expand a company's competitive position, Martin said Takeda Ventures is "a little more forward-looking than that."

"It's looking into the future and making early bets to give us a heads up on things that we need to really think seriously about integrating into our business," Martin said.

As opposed to investing for financial gain, the role of Takeda Ventures is entirely strategic in motive, Martin said, though adding that returns on investment help mitigate cost.

In addition, the new venture group has bumped up its financial cap from $3 million to $5 million per investment, which will help target later-stage companies. "It should be much more straightforward for us to make those investments. Everything is streamlined," Martin said.

Leader Shift

In recent months, Takeda has brought in executives whom did not rise through the company's corporate ladder and will shape the company's activities in the most important emerging markets.

In October, former AstraZeneca Executive VP, International, Bruno Angelici was appointed to the Takeda Global Advisory Board. While at AstraZeneca, Angelici said the company was able to improve operating margins in emerging markets in part by establishing best practices for sales force effectiveness, marketing and market access (Also see "AstraZeneca Outlines Branded Generics Strategy at Emerging Markets Event" - Scrip, 18 Mar, 2010.).

Takeda also rolled out a new plan for expansion in India, from product launches to manufacturing, in October, a year after the company appointed former Roche executive Shankar Suryanarayanan to head its India operations. Hungry to expand quickly in the burgeoning market, Takeda was even rumored to be in talks with India's Dr. Reddy's Labs for a deal in the formulation business (Also see "From Product Launches To Toll Manufacturing, Japanese Giant Takeda Unveils Plans For India" - Scrip, 1 Oct, 2010.).

The company has moved quickly to roll out plans in Asia since bringing in Haruhiko Hirate from GlaxoSmithKline as senior VP of international operations, Asia.

Takeda bought out its joint venture partner Tianjin Lisheng Pharmaceutical in China, citing its desire to be able to move quickly to expand in China, and the company said it plans to hire a new general manager to run the company's China operations (Also see "Takeda Buys Out Chinese Venture, Gains Flexibility In Decision-making For Commercial Expansion" - Scrip, 21 Oct, 2010.).

In other corporate operations, Takeda appointed Anna Protopapas to head a newly formed global business development organization in October that is based at Takeda Pharmaceuticals International in Illinois. Protopapas, who ran corporate development for Takeda subsidiary Millennium, will lead a division that Takeda hopes will act swiftly and flexibly for BD activity, with a priority on global deals.

"What you are seeing here in management changes reflects a desire to become clearly multicultural, neither Japanese-led, nor U.S.-led, nor European-led, but a genuine global blend of management skills," Takeda Ventures' Martin said.

- Daniel Poppy ([email protected])