Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Astellas Pharma Inc., and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation announced that the three companies signed a master agreement on April 22, 2024, to establish a joint venture company. The new company will be dedicated to the incubation of early drug discovery programs, primarily originating from Japan and toward the creation of innovative therapeutics. Joint Venture Company: Planned Overview: Name: To be determined.

CEO: Toshio Fujimoto, MD, MBA. Location: Shonan Health Innovation Park (Fujisawa, Kanagawa, Japan). Capital: Approximately 600 million yen (including capital reserve).

Capital Structure: Takeda 33.4%, Astellas 33.4%, and SMBC 33.2%. Establishment: Mid-2024. Business: Incubation of early discovery programs to develop innovative therapeutics primarily originated from Japan Toshio Fujimoto will concurrently serve as President and Representative Director of the iPark Institute Co.

Ltd. Business Focus: The joint venture company will focus on the following three aspects: Advancing innovative drug discovery programs primarily originating in Japan into the global pharmaceutical market. Incubating globally competitive drug discovery technology and fostering entrepreneurship. Unleashing the potential of drug discovery ecosystem in Japan through the creation of high caliber start-up companies.

In addition to establishing the joint venture company, Takeda and Astellas will provide support to the joint venture company leveraging their expertise gained from global drug discovery research and development, aiming to accelerate open innovation in early-stage drug discovery, and toward the creation of start-up companies for the benefit of society. The joint venture company plans to begin incubation activities by collaboratively working with academia, pharmaceutical companies, and start-up companies across Japan to enable access to potentially transformative early drug discovery programs. Future Plans: The three companies will further discuss the details of the agreement to complete the inception of the joint venture company and commence operations, aiming for a swift launch of the new incubation activities.