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 Japan's top drugmaker has become more international under its French
CEO Christophe Weber, who took over in 2015. Its vaccine to prevent
the mosquito-borne fever is a chance to make a significant impact on
a global neglected tropical disease.
Sanofi's Dengvaxia is the first-ever approved vaccine for dengue,
but it is not perfect and did not protect equally against the four
different types of the virus in clinical tests.
The latest 18-month data published in the journal Lancet Infectious
Diseases showed Takeda's vaccine TAK-003 produced sustained antibody
responses against all four virus strains, regardless of previous
dengue exposure and dosing schedule.
Symptomatic dengue was recorded in 21, or 1.3 percent, of 1,596
Asian and Latin America children and adolescents vaccinated with
TAK-003 compared with nine, or 4.5 percent, of 198 placebo
recipients.
In April this year, Takeda completed enrolment for a final-stage
Phase III trial - the largest clinical study in the company's
history - that will test the experimental vaccine on 20,100 subjects
in eight countries in Latin America and Asia where dengue is
endemic.
Results from the Phase III trial are expected in 2018.
Although dengue is not as serious as malaria, it is spreading
rapidly in many parts of the world. The virus kills about 20,000
people a year and infects hundreds of millions.
Sanofi initially had high hopes for its dengue vaccine, touting it
as a potential $1-billion-a-year-plus product, but initial sales
last year were only 55 million euros ($64 million) and industry
analysts have been dialing back expectations.
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Current consensus analyst forecasts point to annual sales of around
360 million euros for Dengvaxia by 2022, Thomson Reuters data shows.
Last November, Takeda said it would invest more than 100 million
euros to build a new manufacturing plant for its dengue vaccine
candidate in Singen, Germany.
Chief executive Weber is also taking more direct action to
internationalize activities through acquisitions. In January, Takeda
announced the $5.2 billion purchase of U.S. cancer drug specialist
Ariad and flagged its appetite for more deals to bolster its drug
portfolio.
Before joining Takeda, Weber worked in various positions at
GlaxoSmithKline, including a stint as president and general manager
at GSK Vaccines.
(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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