Takeda's $62 billion acquisition of Shire will catapult it into the top 10 pharma companies worldwide—but not without cost. The deal will add tens of billions of dollars to the Japanese pharma's debt load, necessitating precise cost-cutting to stay afloat without stifling innovation.
CEO Christophe Weber's plan involves signing on one or more large, long-term investors, as well as keeping its R&D pipeline alive by discarding programs that don't deliver, Reuters reported.
"It's really important that we don't waste resource on assets that are moderately innovative. When you combine two pipelines you can be more stringent," he said in London, where he is meeting with investors and analysts, according to Reuters.
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Weber thinks Shire's focus on later-stage drug development over early research will make integrating the two companies easier than is typical for similar deals. "There is no large research center that needs to be closed," Reuters reported.
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As for possible long-term investors, Takeda is already in talks with some prospects, but Weber declined to say who.
"There are multiple possibilities of long-term investors, such as government funds or others," Weber said. "A long-term, strategic, stable investor would be great for us."