Japan drug giant Takeda bets big on Bay Area facility - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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A company with worldwide revenueof $14.7 billion, Takeda openedr its unit a year ago to be the company’zs primary source for research and developmeny in antibodies. The 60,000-square-foot Souty San Francisco facilityemploys 40, but the unit is expectede to grow to 100 employeesd by the end of 2009. Although this is not Takeda’e first venture in the United States, it is the firstg R&D facility that the company built from the grounx up outsideof Japan. Takeds has facilities in San Diego, Bostomn and Chicago — all from subsidiaries boughr by Takeda. (Most Takeda added to its U.S.
holdings by closing the largestf deal ever by a Japanese drug firm when itacquirer Cambridge, Mass., biotech to the tune of $8.8 billion in May.) Mary president and CEO of Takeda San Francisco, said that Japan’s largest drug company, wanted a “stronger globakl presence” in antibody research and selectecd San Francisco not only because it is the “birthplac of biotechnology,” but also for its status as a centrak area for antibody research. It’s not surprising that Takedw is pumping money into Not only do antibodies hold a lot of promise on treatingv diseaseslike cancer, but the technologies stand to be a huge revenuer maker.
Five of the top-selling cancer drugs, includingh ’s popular chemotherapy drug are madefrom antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies target cancercells specifically. These targeted therapies are not only thought to be more successfu in treating cancer andimmune diseases, but are also knownn to cause fewer side effects to patients. Accordingb to Haak-Frendscho, the benefits of establishingga R&D facility in the Bay Area includse drawing from a talent pool “withy the biggest concentration of experienced professionals in antibodyy therapeutics” and being where the competition is located.
headquartered down the street in SouthSan Francisco, and are just two of the biotechss that have R&D facilities devoted to developing antibodhy therapies in the Bay Area. Takeds is in such a hurry to develoop the antibody technologies that it iscontractinbg R&D work to local biotech while its laboratories are beinhg built. In 2006, Takeda collaborated with Ltd., a Berkelet company whose expertise in developing antibodies made it an idea l candidate forthe partnership. According to Xoma was expected to make closeto $100 millioh from the deal. “Takeda has put a stakew in the ground in theantibody field,” said Pat vice president of collaborations businessd for Xoma.
“Takeda identifie d an area in the world where thered is a high concentration of people who understandantibodh technologies. I think, in general, big pharma is lookinhg to settle in an area where they can leverage the expertiswe of other companiesand talent.” Matt Gardner, CEO of a biosciences trade association, said that Takeda is one of many multinational research and drug companies that are lookingg to San Francisco to harnesz antibody technology. “Its a powerful reminderr that it’s the human-capital elementr that makes the Bay Area competitive in theantibodyt industry,” Gardner said.