After profits dip Takeda may find solace in Shire merger, says GlobalData

Following a dip in the first-quarter operating profit announced by Takeda, which is being attributed to the loss of US exclusivity for its blockbuster cancer drug and a lacking pipeline, it may find a saving grace in its recent merger with Shire, according to GlobalData.

“Takeda’s first-quarter operating profits took a 49% hit year-on-year, and represent the weakest first quarter profit in the last three years,” explained Thomas Moore, senior pharma analyst at data and analytics company, GlobalData. “Looking to the future, the company will be hoping that its £46 billion ($61 billion) merger with Shire will bolster its drug pipeline and allow it to recover some of the recent drop in revenue.

“When looking at the current drugs pipeline for Takeda and Shire by peak annual sales forecast, seven of the top ten products are expected to come from Shire’s pipeline. This includes Hereditary Angioedema (HAE) monoclonal antibody, lanadelumab, which is on track to launch in the US and EU towards the end of the year, and is forecast to reach blockbuster annual sales of $1.3 billion by 2023. Compared to Shire’s future offerings, Takada’s own pipeline is looking a little bare, and so the company will be looking to leverage Shire’s pipeline once the merger has completed in order to reignite its stumbling operating profits.”

The merger between Takeda and Shire was agreed upon in May this year (2018). The deal, which is expected to be completed next year, is worth £46 billion, making it one of the largest in the sector since 2000. GlobalData predicts (based on 2017 sales) that once complete the newly merged company will be the ninth-largest pharma company in the world.