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RMi Research Note: Japan’s Takeda (TAK) exits cell and gene therapy (CGT) research with $395 M write-off

October 12, 2025 5:34pm

In 2020, they looked and now in 2025, vaccines will become a core business.

Reuters reported “The move marks a significant shift for the Japanese drugmaker, which had spent years trying to build a presence in cell therapy, particularly in cancer treatment.”

TAK will focus on small molecule drugs, biologics and antibody-drug conjugates – areas it believes can deliver innovative medicines to patients more quickly and at greater scale.

Takeda's current 5 core businesses are oncology, gastroenterology, neuroscience, rare diseases, and plasma-derived therapies

TAK is now prioritizing 6 drug candidates, including elritercept for anemia in blood cancers, being tested in late-stage trials which are expected to bring in combined peak sales of $10 billion to $20 B??

These immune cells were being explored for their potential to treat both solid tumors and blood cancers. However, the company said it now plans to redirect resources to other parts of its pipeline.

TAK wasn’t prepared and late to consider the scalability as current pharma models scale CGT like small molecules – a NO can do!

As logistics kill scalability. These therapies require just-in-time, personalized manufacturing. Not centralized plants shipping pills worldwide.

Also U.S. tariff barriers could also be a barrier to the future

35 companies, 1 interpreter!

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