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In your opinion, what is particularly unique about life science companies in Japan?

Japan has been a leader in life sciences for a very long time. For example, Takeda was founded in 1781, making it one of the oldest life science companies in the world. Takeda’s engagement in life sciences is more than business. We take a long-term view when it comes to health, and improving health. With strong engagement in health from many Japanese companies and academic sciences, I see the life sciences environment as thriving and very dynamic in Japan.

Where does infectious diseases and global health fit into Takeda’s vision and core business strategy?

Takeda is active in many countries in the world, both in developed and emerging countries. It is true that in our core research we focus more on non-communicable diseases such as oncology, gastroenterology and the central nervous system; however, we see the impact of infectious diseases on lives around the world very clearly. We invest in global health because it is very important for us.

Takeda’s presence in more than 70 countries and our work helping to improve health for all motivates our drive and engagement in global health. Takeda’s vaccines division is especially active in advancing vaccine candidates against diseases such as, dengue, and norovirus, etc., all of which could have great impact on public health, especially in developing countries.

GHIT is now in its fifth year of operations, and Takeda has been a strong partner and Council member every step of the way. In what ways has this partnership influenced Takeda’s overall engagement in global health R&D?

People who work in the pharmaceutical industry are motivated to improve the lives of patients and public health. When they see Takeda’s involvement in GHIT, or support for CSR programs on public health, it makes an impact. Our employees in particular are very engaged and inspired by our collaboration with GHIT and our work in global health because at our core this is why we are in this industry, and why we are working for a company like Takeda.

What are the differences between the R&D innovation process for global health products versus the R&D innovation process for products with traditional commercial markets?

The R&D process for global health requires engagement from multiple partners across sectors, so the collaboration is slightly different from our core process. However, the overall innovation process is quite similar. You need to design the molecule and the medicine, and you need to do the clinical development (Phase I, II, and III, etc.). This is where both processes intersect and are complimentary. As a pharmaceutical company, we can bring our know-how and combine it with the expertise of partners in the international community to work jointly to progress the critical solutions needed through the R&D pipeline and into the market.

One example is Takeda’s partnership with Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) to study anti-malarial compounds in the hopes of developing a new malaria drug. This is a noteworthy initiative because Takeda, as a company, does not have strong expertise and experience in malaria. However, Takeda brings in our know-how and capabilities in research and clinical development expertise to support moving the antimalarial compound into clinical studies. The antimalarial compound utilized in this partnership stems from a collaboration between three different professors from the United States and Australia. This example truly illustrates the global health R&D collaboration model of cross-sectoral partners contributing their core expertise into a partnership to address a global health need.