Takeda is nearing the final stages of a joint venture with PRA Health Sciences, the product of an expansion of their clinical development partnership in Japan announced in February.
The Japanese drugmaker is bumping up the capitals of a new subsidiary established at the end of March from 10 million yen to 450 million yen ($4.1 million) through a company split, before shelling out half of its shares in that new unit to the CRO, thus officially forming the JV called Takeda-PRA Development Center, the company said in a release.
At the time of the company split, the subsidiary, currently wholly owned by Takeda, will issue 17,800 shares of common stock, adding on to the 200 shares already in place. Takeda will then transfer 9,000 to PRA. The company split and transfer of shares are now scheduled to go through on June 1.
As the two specified when they announced the plan for a Japan JV, the new equally shared company “will provide clinical development operations and pharmacovigilance services for both development and marketed products” of Takeda in Japan. Those services are currently operated under Takeda Development Center Japan, a section of whose businesses will also be transferred to PRA as part of the deal.
This partnership will offer “a more flexible operational capability” with both Takeda’s and PRA’s expertise, said the company in the release.
Takeda first announced a major rejig of its drug development businesses last summer, saying that it has started to refocus its R&D efforts in oncology, gastroenterology and the central nervous system, plus vaccines mainly in the U.S. and Japan.
Last September, that shake-up started to see a business integration with PRA. It involves moving about 300 Takeda employees working in drug development to PRA Health Sciences, which is taking over pipeline development activities for Takeda in the U.S. and European markets.
The two then expanded the agreement in February to include Japan with the intention of a JV. Takeda is also moving about 140 employees to the new company “to support drug development and marketed products in Japan," said the company in a release announcing the expansion of the partnership. It is also handing over all shares of its subsidiary Takeda Pharmaceutical Data Services to PRA, together with about 60 employees.
Takeda will announce its financial forecast for fiscal year 2017, including the impact of this transaction, when it reports year-end earnings in May.