Takeda filed ACTOS^® Patent Litigations against Generic Companies in Japan

OSAKA, Japan, June 15, 2011 - Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”) announced today that it filed four lawsuits in total with the Tokyo and Osaka District Courts against 18 companies that had expressed their intentions to obtain prices from NHI (National Health Insurance) for their generic products of Takeda’s ACTOS^® (generic name: pioglitazone HCl, hereafter "ACTOS"), an oral treatment for type 2 diabetes discovered and developed by Takeda. Takeda claims patent infringement by the 18 defendants companies and seeks provisional injunctions to prevent them from infringing its patents by manufacturing and selling generic products of ACTOS.

The patents in suits cover a combination use of ACTOS with other oral antidiabetic products (α-glucosidase inhibitors, biguanides, and glimepiride), and Takeda believes that manufacturing and selling generic products of ACTOS without its consent will infringe such patents. Out of 27 companies, which have obtained the marketing approvals for their generic products of ACTOS, 9 companies agreed to settle the patent disputes but not the 18 companies.

"Patents of pharmaceutical products are pivotal assets for R&D-driven companies aiming to discover and bring innovative medicines, as such patents protect new technologies and products that have been created over the R&D process, which takes an extremely long period of time,” said Yoichi Okumura, General Manager of Intellectual Property Department of Takeda. "As well as ACTOS, we are committed to take appropriate actions including legal ones against the infringement of our patents.”

About Takeda

Located in Osaka, Japan, Takeda is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to strive towards better health for patients worldwide through leading innovation in medicine. Additional information about Takeda is available through its corporate website, www.takeda.com.

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