Takeda scraps vaccine trial in Phase II
pharmafile | February 2, 2015 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Diptheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis (DTaP) and Sabin inactivated poliovirus vaccine (sIPV), Rajeev Venkayya, TAK-361S, Takeda
Takeda has announced it is abandoning the development of a vaccine in Japan that was in Phase II clinical trials.
TAK-361S, a four-component combination of Diptheria-Tetanus-acellular Pertussis (DTaP) and Sabin inactivated poliovirus vaccine (sIPV), was being trialled but has been ‘voluntarily discontinued’, Takeda says.
“This decision resulted from a vaccine portfolio prioritisation process to ensure that Takeda’s R&D resources are directed toward the highest-impact programmes for public health,” the company adds in a statement. There is a similar vaccine already available in Japan which was said to be a factor leading in this result.
Takeda says it will now focus on vaccine programmes that address significant unmet needs in its home country, including norovirus, dengue fever, influenza, Haemophilus Influenzae type b and foot and mouth disease.
Takeda recently obtained approval for a cell culture-based vaccine against pandemic influenza in Japan, and has a cell-based seasonal influenza vaccine in Phase I/II trials. The company also filed for approval of a Hib vaccine in 2013.
“We are committed to addressing the most important challenges in public health – in Japan and around the world,” says Rajeev Venkayya, president of Takeda’s vaccine unit. “Our highest priority is infectious diseases that threaten the lives of millions of people each year, and for which vaccines do not exist.”
In a recent interview with Pharmafile.com, Venkayya also discussed the company’s candidates – including a promising candidate for Chikungunya disease and also potentially for the Ebola virus.
“We are looking very carefully at our pipeline, and we’ve identified potential candidates that might have an impact on the evolution of the infection and we’re currently evaluating those – but it’s too early to say whether those will actually show potential efficacy and whether we would take them into people for this purpose but we’re looking at this.”
Lilian Anekwe
Related Content
Von Willebrand disease – increasing awareness and access to vital care
Pharmafile talks to Anthea Cherednichenko, Vice President Franchise Head Haematology and Transplant at Takeda about …
Combination treatments: Takeda’s Implementation Framework and the broader landscape
Pharmafile talks to Emma Roffe, Oncology Country Head (UK & Ireland) about the combination treatment …
Takeda presents positive results from trial of chronic kidney disease treatment
Takeda Pharmaceuticals has announced positive results from a proof-of-concept study of mezagitamab (TAK-079) to treat …
