Science
Where science is
We are motivated by the pursuit of groundbreaking scientific discoveries and the commitment to addressing unmet health care challenges for patients. Fueled by our inherent curiosity, we translate science into highly innovative, life-transforming medicines.
We work with passion and purpose, motivated by our shared goal to deliver better health and a brighter future to millions of people around the world. Our people are our greatest asset, representing diverse experiences and backgrounds that together create a stronger whole.
Areas of focus
We focus on innovations that contribute to making a difference in people’s lives. We aim to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal and inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience and vaccines.
Gastrointestinal and Inflammation
We innovate in gastroenterology and inflammation so patients can live in the moment. Our aim is to give patients a voice by making their often “invisible” conditions seen and heard through pioneering innovation, now and in the future. We now have one of the most promising GI pipelines in the industry - focused on GI inflammation, GI motility disorders and advanced liver disease.
- Inflammatory Bowel disease (IBD)
- Celiac disease
- Dermatological & Rheumatic diseases
- Liver diseases
- Neurogastric disorders
Rare Diseases
We are committed to activating meaningful change for the rare disease communities we serve. We aspire to transform the treatment for difficult-to-diagnose rare diseases with high-unmet need across our hematology, immunology, lysosomal storage disorders (LSD), transplant, plasma-derived therapies, neuroscience, gastrointestinal and inflammation portfolios.
- Rare Hematology and Hemostasis
- Hemophilia
- Von Willebrand disease
- Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura
- Rare Immunology
- Hereditary Angioedema
- Immune Deficiency diseases
- Rare Autoimmune disorders
- Hypoalbuminemia & Hypovolemia
- Severe Congenital Protein C deficiency
- Prothrombin deficiency
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency
- Rare Metabolic
- Hunter syndrome
- Fabry disease
- Gaucher disease
- CMV & transplant
Plasma-Derived Therapies
We aim to transform the lives of patients through innovation and sustainability from plasma donation to delivery of holistic Plasma-Derived Therapies. We have a broad and exciting pipeline comprising a mix of near and long-term opportunities targeted at rare and complex chronic disease areas with high unmet need.
- Immunodeficiencies
- Neuroimmunology
- Hematology
- Pulmonology
- Specialty & critical care
- Other rare & chronic diseases
Oncology
We aspire to cure cancer, with inspiration from patients and innovation from everywhere. Our research and development efforts focus on advancing medicines for thoracic, gastrointestinal and hematologic cancers, using modalities best suited to make a meaningful difference in these areas.
- Solid tumors
- Hematology
Neuroscience
Our focus in neuroscience is driven by the unmet need of patients with neurologic diseases. Our mission is to bring innovative and potentially disease-modifying medicines to these individuals.
- Rare epilepsies
- Sleep-wake disorders
- Parkinson’s disease
- ADHD
Vaccines
Our mission is to tackle some of the world’s most challenging infectious diseases. We look to advance our pipeline of vaccines to help address the unmet global public health needs.
- Dengue
- COVID-19
- Zika
- Pandemic influenza
Learn more about each therapeutic are by visiting our global site.
Our pipeline of new treatments
We strive to achieve leading innovation in medicine and determines its R&D strategy based on the latest medical needs.
Our research and development programs have resulted in an exciting pipeline of potential new treatments that are at various stages of development:
Phase 1, small studies, often with healthy patients to evaluate safety and how the drug works in the body (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion).
Phase 2, generally small-scale studies to evaluate specific characteristics such as safety, efficacy, dosing or administration methods.
Phase 3, involving larger numbers of patients, often in more than one country evaluating the new treatment against placebo or medicines used previously. Results of these studies are generally used to support applications for marketing approval in different countries.
We disclose drugs under development that have entered phase 1 clinical trials or above in Japan, the U.S. or Europe. Visit our pipeline to learn more >
Drugs and their indicated uses that are currently under development have not received marketing authorization for sale in Canada.
Canadian R&D & value-based partnerships
Takeda is dedicated to pioneering new medicines and continues to invest in research and development (R&D) to address unmet medical needs. We are driven by scientific discoveries and the commitment to resolving healthcare challenges for patients, transforming science into highly innovative, life-changing medicines.
Our R&D efforts are centered around patient needs, integrating internal strengths with those of the external research community through collaborations and partnerships with biotech, academia, consortia, patient advocacy groups, and others.
The launches of Takeda’s biologic medicines ENTYVIO® and TAKHZYRO® marked significant milestones in Canadian medical research. These achievements earned the Prix Galien Innovative Product Award 2016 for ENTYVIO and the Prix Galien Innovative Product Award 2022 for TAKHZYRO.
In Canada, Takeda supports clinical research in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal and inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience and vaccines. Canadian research initiatives supported by Takeda include:
- British Columbia Cancer Agency: Furthering knowledge in the fight against Canada’s leading cause of death with two major research partnerships. Learn more
- CARMA-BROS study: Takeda invested $2.4 million into a University Health Network study that aims to evaluate real world outcomes in lung cancer patients. Learn more
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): $720,000 rare disease fellowship program in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to support advancements in rare disease across Canada. Learn more >
- Canadian Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research Consortium (CIRC): $1.5 million donation to the Pioneer Grant to support clinical research conducted by CIRC members in a collective effort to improve patient outcomes. Learn more
- The Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program (CDTRP) Research Innovation Grant Competition: A collaborative effort to provide seed funding for new and innovative pilot projects in the transplant and donation field. Learn more
- Structural Genomics Consortium: Canadians helping international scientists unlock vital keys to our future healthcare at the MaRS innovation centre in Toronto. Learn more
- enGene Inc.: A strategic alliance with the Montreal-based biotechnology company to discover, develop and commercialize novel therapies for specialty gastrointestinal diseases using enGene’s “Gene Pill” gene delivery platform. Learn more
- PACE (Promoting Access and Care through Centres of Excellence): Canada’s first national network of leading Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis patient care and research centres. Learn more
- Pentavere: A research collaboration to gain more understanding on the characteristics and clinical outcomes of Canadian patients with hereditary angioedema with normal C1-inhibitor function (HAE nC1-INH) and idiopathic angioedema of unknown etiology (AE-UNK). This research project resulted in a study that was published in the journal “Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol”. Learn more
- IMAGINE SPOR (Inflammation, Microbiome, and Alimentation: Gastro-Intestinal and Neuropsychiatric Effects; Strategy for Patient Oriented Research): A major investment towards the Canadian Institutes for Health Research IMAGINE SPOR initiative hosted by McMaster University, focused on irritable bowel syndrome and Inflammatory Bowel Disease priorities. Learn more
- Turnstone Biologics: Strategic collaboration between Takeda and Ottawa-based Turnstone Biologics to develop a disruptive class of engineered viral immunotherapies. Turnstone to receive USD $120 million upfront and up to USD $900 million if project milestones are met for a total of over CAD $1.3 billion.
- Myeloma Canada Research Network (MCRN): Supporting the first and only national academic myeloma research group that brings Canadian-designed clinical trials to Canadians across the county. Learn more >
- Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI): A research collaboration for much-needed new treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease). Learn more
- University Hospital Foundation (UHF): A strategic collaboration between UHF and Takeda to help better understand the impact of rare disorders on Canadians and the health system. An opportunity in creating a framework for research in Rare Diseases using the network of AB Health System data supporting Regulatory or HTA needs and requirements. Learn more