08 May 2018 --- Takeda Pharmaceutical has reached a deal to buy Shire Plc. for US$62 billion in a move hoped to rapidly boost Takeda’s global standing as a biopharmaceutical leader. It is predicted to bring together Takeda and Shire’s complementary positions in gastroenterology (GI), neuroscience and more. Also, it may advance Shire’s portfolio with Takeda’s strong presence in emerging markets and Japan.

“Since its inception, Takeda has transformed into an agile, R&D-driven global pharmaceutical company that is well-positioned to deliver innovative and transformative care to patients around the world,” says Christophe Weber, President and Chief Executive Officer of Takeda.

“Shire’s highly complementary product portfolio and pipeline, as well as experienced employees, will accelerate our transformation for a stronger Takeda. Together, we will be a leader in providing targeted treatments in gastroenterology, neuroscience, oncology, rare diseases and plasma-derived therapies. We are looking forward to the benefits this combination will bring to patients worldwide, the opportunities it will bring for our employees and the returns it will deliver for our shareholders.”

Under the terms of the acquisition, each Shire shareholder will be entitled to receive US$30.33 in cash for each Shire share and either 0.839 new Takeda shares or 1.678 Takeda ADSs. The transaction has been approved by both companies’ boards of directors and is expected to close in the first half of the calendar year 2019. Upon the closing of the transaction, Takeda shareholders will own approximately 50 percent of the combined group.

The deal is set to be the largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese company, reports Reuters, it is also one of the largest ever in the pharma sector, crowing a few hectic months of deal-making as key players looked to improve their pipelines. The past few months have seen GlaxoSmithKline acquire Novartis’ 36.5 percent stake in its Consumer Healthcare Joint Venture for US$13 billion and the P&G acquisition of Merck KGaA’s consumer health unit in a US$4.2 billion takeover.

With strong market positions in prioritized therapeutic areas, an “attractive geographic footprint,” greater scale and efficiencies, and “an even more productive R&D engine,” the combined group hope to be better positioned to deliver highly-innovative medicines and transformative care providing better health and a “brighter future” for patients around the world.

Takeda and Shire have highly complementary pipelines. Shire has expertise in rare diseases, and modality-diverse mid- and late-stage pipeline, enriched with large-molecule programs, as well as modern technologies in gene therapy and recombinant proteins. Combining this with Takeda’s early development and research-oriented R&D program should result in a highly complementary, robust, modality-diverse pipeline and a strengthened R&D engine focused on breakthrough innovation, as described by Takeda. The combined group will build on existing partnerships, including Takeda’s more than 180 active partnerships with academia, biotechnology companies and startups, to further enrich the pipeline.

Susan Kilsby, chairman of Shire, says, “Over the last 30 years, Shire has become the global leader in treating rare diseases, delivering innovative products that transform patients’ lives. With this combination, Shire helps create an even stronger biopharmaceutical company, with a robust R&D pipeline and expanded global footprint. We are proud of what Shire has become and are grateful to all Shire employees for their contributions. We firmly believe that this combination recognizes the strong growth potential of our leading products and innovative pipeline and is in the best interests of our shareholders, our patients and the communities we serve.”

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