Takeda says the consultation over the proposed closure of its operations in Cambridge, UK is continuing with no decisions made.
The company told PMLiVE that local news reports indicating the closure was already agreed, and that the process would complete before the end of the year, were premature.
Takeda Cambridge is being affected by the company’s decision to focus its R&D operations in Japan and the US, part of a sweeping restructuring campaign initiated by the Japanese group’s first western chief executive Christophe Weber.
Earlier this year, Weber implemented a $275m plan to streamline Takeda’s R&D on core areas – oncology, gastroenterology and the central nervous system plus vaccines – around a Japanese centre in Shonan and US centres in San Diego and Boston.
It is not clear yet how many jobs may be lost if the unit is closed, as some of the R&D being carried out at Cambridge remains within Takeda’s focus, with projects covering Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia as well as diabetes, obesity and inflammatory diseases.
Takeda has been operating in Cambridge since its 2007 acquisition of TCB, a drug discovery company set up by Cambridge University researchers. The company also operates a European development centre in London that employs 400 people.
The company has said the R&D revamp is needed to provide “organisational and financial flexibility to drive innovation, enhance partnerships and improve R&D productivity for long-term sustainable growth”.
The restructuring at Takeda has also seen its older generic drugs bundled into a joint venture with Teva and the sale of its respiratory business to AstraZeneca, something that also goes against perceived wisdom in the Japanese pharma industry where mature branded products are generally viewed as a valued asset.
Earlier this month it also announced plans to offload a majority stake in Wako Pure Chemical in a deal that could bring in around $1bn and help fund an ongoing campaign to bolster its pipeline via licensing deals and acquisitions.