Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical said full-year earnings slumped by more than half as the company focused on rebuilding its drug pipeline to make up for the loss of patent protection for major sellers.
Operating profit was 214.1 billion yen (S$1.86 billion) for the 12 months through March, versus 490.5 billion yen last year and a consensus estimate of 265.3 billion yen in an LSEG survey of 13 analysts.
Takeda forecast operating profit will reach 225 billion yen in the current fiscal year. The company said it would incur restructuring expenses of about 140 billion yen this year as part of a plan to optimise its workforce.
Takeda had flagged fiscal 2023 as a rebuilding phase as it lost exclusivity on blood pressure drug Azilva in Japan and hyperactivity treatment Vyvanse in the United States.
But the company hit roadblocks with clinical trial failures for treatments of lung cancer and Crohn’s disease, leading to hefty impairment losses in the second quarter.
More recently, the company reported positive Phase II results on its narcolepsy treatment TAK-861. And still in the pipeline is an experimental psoriasis drug it purchased from U.S.-based Nimbus Therapeutics in late 2022 for as much as US$6 billion.
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Takeda also has high hopes for its dengue fever vaccine Qdenga, with recent talks to start a clinical trial and production in India.
The company’s shares are about flat so far this year, compared to a 14 per cent advance in the benchmark Nikkei gauge. REUTERS
