Takeda to Establish Four Sales and Marketing Subsidiaries

Monday, 05 October 2009

"Takeda has a significant opportunity to expand our presence in Mexico, Europe and other priority markets," said Alan MacKenzie, Executive Vice President (EVP) International Operations, Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. "Executing our territory expansion strategy is an important step toward further globalizing our operations and enhancing our ability to bring important medicines to patients who need them."

The Mexican pharmaceutical market is the 12th largest in the world and accounts for approximately 25 percent of the pharmaceutical sales throughout Latin America. The population in Mexico is increasing, and access to healthcare continues to grow, with the market increasing faster than in the United States and Europe, making it a key region for Takeda's expansion.

Nordics and Benelux are strategically important regions in Europe - Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium and Luxembourg have a combined pharmaceutical market size which accounts for five percent of the European pharmaceutical market. Following the buy-back of Actos® (pioglitazone) in October 2008, Takeda will be distributing Actos in the five countries. The creation of these commercial subsidiaries will further increase Takeda's reach in the regions.

The Turkish pharmaceutical market is one of the largest global pharmaceutical markets, ranked sixth in Europe and 13th worldwide with the fastest forecasted growth rate in Europe over the next five years. Takeda also recently re-acquired the rights to Actos in this market, providing the business with a strong product with which to enter the market.

Overall, the new subsidiaries will accelerate Takeda's expansion efforts for core products including Actos and reinforces Takeda's global operating infrastructure. The company will work toward the earliest possible approval and launch of new products in these regions. Takeda's presence in these seven new countries builds upon other expansions announced in 2009 including commercial operations in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, and Canada.

About Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited
Located in Osaka, Japan, Takeda is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to striving toward better health for individuals and progress in medicine by developing superior pharmaceutical products. Takeda is enhancing its R&D pipeline by concentrating its management resources in the following selected core therapeutic areas: lifestyle-related diseases, oncology and urological diseases (including gynecology), central nervous system diseases (including bone and joint disorders), and gastroenterological diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.takeda.com.