Takeda Announces Appointment of Andrew Plump, M.D., Ph.D., as Chief Medical and Scientific Officer

Osaka, Japan, December 18, 2014 -- Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited announced today that Andrew "Andy" Plump, M.D., Ph.D., has been approved by the company's Board of Directors as Corporate Officer and Chief Medical and Scientific Officer (CMSO) Designate.  Dr. Plump will join Takeda in February 1, 2015.  In his new position, Dr. Plump will lead Takeda's global R&D operations and will report directly to Christophe Weber, President and Chief Operating Officer of Takeda.

Dr. Plump's appointment follows the planned retirement of Tadataka "Tachi" Yamada, M.D., Takeda's current Chief Medical and Scientific Officer.  Dr. Yamada will remain CMSO and assist in the transition of leadership.  He will retire as CMSO and as a Member of Takeda's Board of Directors in June 2015.

"I am fully confident that Andy, with his deep experience in drug discovery and development and his past work in areas directly relevant to Takeda, will sustain and enhance our best-in-class R&D enterprise," said Christophe Weber, President and Chief Operating Officer, Takeda.  "Andy has a deep passion for leveraging breakthroughs in science to improve patients' lives, which is in line with Takeda's mission and fully reflects our core values of Takeda-ism."

Dr. Plump brings more than 25 years' experience in the pharmaceutical industry and academia. His expertise spans across a number of disease areas with emphasis in cardiovascular, metabolism and neuroscience.  He is a true translational physician-scientist, with deep knowledge in biomedical research, experimental medicine, early development, genomics and biomarkers.  Most recently at Sanofi, Dr. Plump served as Senior Vice President, Research & Translational Medicine, Deputy to the President R&D, based in Paris.  Prior to that, he served as Vice President, Worldwide Cardiovascular Research Head at Merck, where he had direct responsibility for preclinical development and research teams, and a leadership role in the end-to-end activities of the Merck cardiovascular portfolio.

Dr. Plump received his M.D. from the University of California, San Francisco, his Ph.D. in cardiovascular genetics with Dr. Jan Breslow at the Rockefeller University, and his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He completed a residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Medical Genetics at U.C.S.F.  Following his clinical training, Dr. Plump trained as a Howard Hughes postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience with Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne at U.C.S.F., concurrently assuming faculty responsibilities as an Adjunct Clinical Instructor in the Department of Medical Genetics.

Dr. Yamada will facilitate the transition of leadership. Dr. Yamada will remain a Member of Takeda's Board of Directors until June 2015.
"Tachi has reshaped Takeda's R&D organization, and due in large part to his contributions we have a bright future before us. His keen intellect and his passionate commitment to patients have inspired us all.  Tachi has been instrumental in creating the foundation for the transformation we are undertaking today, deeply rooted in Takeda-ism, and we are very grateful for his substantial contributions," said Weber.