Japanese drug giant Takeda and US biotech Intra-Cellular will no longer work together on developing new drugs for schizophrenia, bringing their $750-million pact to an early end.
According to the companies, the decision to terminate the license agreement, which covered Intra-Cellular Therapies' proprietary compound ITI-214 and related PDE1 inhibitors, was ‘mutual’, but no further reasoning was given.
The move sees the New York-based group regain all worldwide development and commercialisation rights to the compounds, which it plans to study for the treatment of central nervous system, cardiovascular and other disorders.
The news came as Takeda booked a 2.8% rise in first-half revenue to 851.4 billion yen ($7.5 billion), although net profit fall 22% to 61.4 billion yen, mainly because of the hit from a decrease in gains from sales of financial assets compared to the previous year, while core earnings slipped 7% to 169.3 billion yen.
Company reshuffle
In September the company unveiled a redesign of of its global structure, under which R&D will be realigned into four therapeutic areas: central nervous system (CNS); cardiovascular and metabolic (CVM); gastroenterology (GI); and Oncology.
Additionally, commercial divisions are being redefined into five newly established Regional Business Units of Japan Pharma, Emerging Markets, United States, Europe-Canada and Japan Consumer Healthcare, and two global Speciality Business Units will be newly established in Oncology and Vaccines.
The changes, says Takeda, will help it attain its goal of becoming a more agile, best-in-class pharmaceutical company, “able to capitalise on growth opportunities across the globe”.
