Takeda mulls spinning out assets to focus R&D after Shire merger

Talking to investors in London, Takeda Pharmaceutical's (TYO: 4502) chief executive Christophe Weber said his firm would remain focused on R&D to grow after his firm’s merger with rare disease specialist Shire (LSE: SHP).

After many weeks of speculation and negotiation, Takeda finally reached agreement for its acquisition of Shire earlier this month, a deal which values the company at £46 billion ($62 billion), and which will require Takeda to take on an uncomfortably large amount of debt. The transaction is still subject to shareholders' approval.

Reuters reports Mr Weber saying that to avoid “wasting resources on assets that are moderately innovative,” Takeda would either sell off less promising options from the newly enlarged firm’s bulging pipeline, or spin them out into separate biotechs, an increasingly common option for large pharma firms with a superabundance of candidates.