Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka-shi, Osaka; President and CEO: Christophe Weber; hereinafter “Takeda Pharmaceuticals”), Astellas Pharma Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Naoki Okamura; hereinafter “Astellas Pharma”), and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Akihiro Fukudome; hereinafter “Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation”) will launch a drug discovery project aimed at creating innovative pharmaceuticals originating in Japan on 2024/4/22 Incubation of Zu*1I would like to inform you that we have concluded a basic agreement on the establishment of a joint venture to do
1. backgrounds
In Japan, which is one of the world's leading new drug creators, there are academia that conduct innovative basic drug discovery research, and many global pharmaceutical companies with early seed research know-how and drug discovery capabilities, and both have attractive drug discovery seeds. Meanwhile, in recent years, it has become an issue that the “Valley of Death,” which stands in the way of commercializing technology from academia, that is, innovative technologies and drug discovery seeds from academia are not efficiently connected to clinical application. Therefore, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Astellas Pharma, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (hereafter, the “three companies”) have been proceeding with discussions aimed at establishing a joint venture that will comprehensively handle everything from initial drug discovery research to the establishment of drug discovery startup companies in order to resolve this issue.
2. Overview of the joint venture (planned)
| Company name | unsettled |
| representatives | Fujimoto Toshio (Note) |
| location | Shonan Health Innovation Park (Fujisawa, Kanagawa) |
| capital | Approximately 600 million yen (including capital reserves) |
| Investment ratio | Takeda Pharmaceuticals 33.4%, Astellas Pharma 33.4%, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation 33.2% |
| Expected date of establishment | Mid-2024 |
| Business content | Incubation of drug discovery seeds for the creation of innovative pharmaceuticals originating in Japan |
Note: Mr. Toshio Fujimoto will work concurrently with the President and CEO of iPark Institute Co., Ltd.
3. Business description of the joint venture
We will focus on the following 3 points.
- Deploying innovative drug discovery ideas originating in Japan to the global pharmaceutical market
- Incubating globally competitive drug discovery technology and fostering entrepreneurship (entrepreneurship)
- Revitalizing the drug discovery ecosystem through the creation of startup companies
In addition to establishing a joint venture, the three companies will provide support to the joint venture based on global drug discovery research and development know-how cultivated by Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Astellas Pharma, leading to open innovation in new drug development, promote social implementation of drug discovery seeds, and create startup companies that develop innovative pharmaceuticals. The joint venture plans to begin incubation activities through joint research, etc., starting with access to promising drug discovery seeds owned by domestic academia, pharmaceutical companies, startup companies, etc.
4. Future developments
Going forward, the three companies will proceed with detailed discussions and studies for the establishment of a joint venture with the aim of quickly starting the business.
*1 Incubation: Services and activities that support entrepreneurship and business creation
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＜About Takeda Pharmaceuticals＞
Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) aims to contribute to the health of people around the world and a brilliant future. We are working to create innovative pharmaceuticals in major disease areas and business fields such as digestive system/inflammatory diseases, rare diseases, plasma-fractionated preparations, oncology (cancer), neuroscience (neuropsychiatric diseases), and vaccines. Together with our partners, we are working to deliver new treatment options and contribute to improving patients' quality of life by building a strong and diverse pipeline. Takeda Pharmaceutical, headquartered in Japan, is a leading research and development biopharmaceutical company based on the value (value) of putting patients at the center based on its own corporate philosophy. Based on values that have been shaped for over 2 centuries, we are active in approximately 80 countries and regions to fulfill our raison d'être (purpose) in society. For more details, seehttps://www.takeda.com/jp/Please take a look.
＜About Astellas Pharma Corporation＞
Astellas Pharma is a pharmaceutical company developing business activities in over 70 countries around the world. We are working to create innovative pharmaceuticals for diseases with high unmet medical needs by making full use of cutting-edge biology and modality/technology combinations (Focus Area Approach). Furthermore, based on the strengths we have cultivated in the medical pharmaceuticals (Rx) business, we are also taking on the challenge of creating products and services (Rx+) that combine cutting-edge medical technology with partner technology in different fields. Astellas Pharma will stand at the cutting edge of changing medical care and transform scientific advances into “value” for patients. For more information about Astellas Pharma, see (https://www.astellas.com/jp/Please see).
＜About Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation ＞
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is a bank under the umbrella of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. with a business base of 455 domestic locations (excluding branch offices, agencies, etc.) and 19 overseas locations (excluding branch offices and representative offices). For more details, seehttps://www.smbc.co.jp/Please take a look.