Takeda, Japan’s Premier Pharma Firm, Exceeds Q1 Earnings Forecasts Thanks to Key Medications and Dengue Immunization
TOKYO (Reuters) – The Japanese pharmaceutical titan, Takeda (TYO:4502), saw its Q1 profits surpass the predictions of industry analysts, fuelled by robust revenue from its staple medications, as well as the introduction of novel products, including its vaccine for dengue fever.
The financial performance signifies a promising commencement to a year of restructuring for Takeda, a period when its major product offerings grapple with patent expiry while the company simultaneously hunts for fresh victors in its pharmaceutical development pipeline.
Earnings before interests and taxes for the quarter swelled by 12% to hit 168.6 billion yen (roughly $1.2 billion), up from the same period last year, Takeda confirmed. This contrasted with the median projection of 150.7 billion yen put forth by a group of six industry experts polled by Refinitiv.
The pharma giant reaffirmed its yearly operating profit forecast at 349 billion yen, while industry experts anticipate an average of 481.1 billion yen over the entire year.
In May, the largest pharmaceutical enterprise of Japan projected a potential downturn in profit for the current fiscal year, due to the loss of exclusive sales rights for its hypertension medication, Azilva, within Japan, and its ADHD medication, Vyvanse, within the United States.
In a significant development, Takeda, last December, consented to acquire a potential psoriasis medication from the U.S.-based Nimbus Therapeutics, for an estimated sum of $6 billion. This agreement marked its first substantial acquisition since its monumental $59 billion buyout of Shire Plc (LON:SHP) in 2019.
In a much-anticipated move, Takeda’s dengue immunization QDENGA received approval from European regulators last December, a critical achievement for the company’s internal development pipeline.
This month, Takeda voluntarily retracted its application for U.S. endorsement of the vaccine, attributing this to data gathering complications. However, the company stated on Thursday that it anticipates a total of eight key regulatory decisions by the conclusion of the fiscal year.
In the course of this year, Takeda’s stocks have appreciated by 7.1%, although they are lagging behind the 26.1% leap witnessed by the Nikkei, the standard index.
($1 = 140.2200 yen)
