Takeda to Invest ¥‎100 Billion (US$754 Million) into New Plasma Therapy Manufacturing Facility

Takeda Pharmaceutical announced on March 23, 2023 that it plans to invest approximately ¥‎100 Billion (US$754 million) into building a new manufacturing facility in Osaka, Japan, for plasma-derived therapies (PDTs). According to a company press release, this move represents Takeda’s largest investment in expanding its manufacturing capacity in Japan.

The investment is part of Takeda’s strategy to establish end-to-end manufacturing capability for PDTs at Osaka. According to the company in its press release, the new state-of-the-art facility will be the largest of its kind in the country. The facility is expected to be operational by 2030 and expands Takeda’s capacity for plasma manufacturing by almost five-fold. The company also has an existing plasma facility in Narita, Japan.

The facility will be built with automation and advanced digital technologies and will be a fully integrated plant, comprising teardown, fractionation, purification, and fill/finish capabilities as well as a cold storage warehouse. Takeda will use an environmentally friendly design to support its goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions related to operations, including scopes 1 and 2, before the year 2035. The company’s existing Narita plasma manufacturing site will continue day-to-day operations until at least the end of the decade, during which time the company will make continued necessary investments for maintenance.

“Takeda has delivered plasma therapies to meet the needs of patients in Japan for more than 70 years. This new investment will strengthen our ability to continuously and reliably bring high-quality PDTs to a growing number of patients in Japan and worldwide. We will engage in discussions with the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare to ensure we are contributing to sustainable patient care in an area of high unmet need in Japan,” said Milano Furuta, president of the Japan Pharma Business Unit at Takeda, in the company press release.

“We are pleased to make this investment in Japan, demonstrating our commitment to our fast-growing PDT business and to our home country,” said Thomas Wozniewski, global manufacturing and supply officer at Takeda, in the release. “Japan will play an even more critical role in our global manufacturing network, contributing to supply chain resilience globally. The new facility will provide a plasma fractionation capacity of more than [two] million liters per year. The company will unleash the power of automation and digitalization to deliver high quality products to patients reliant on PDTs, including those with diseases for which there are no alternative treatments.”

Source: Takeda Pharmaceutical