Takeda to acquire Millennium for US$8.8bn

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, of Japan, has signed a definitive agreement to purchase US biopharmaceutical company Millennium Pharmaceuticals for approximately US$8.8bn (Euro 5.53bn).

Upon completion of the acquisition, Millennium will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, and will continue operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as a standalone business unit. Millennium will be known as Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Takeda Company.

The acquisition of Millennium accelerates Takeda's vision of becoming a global leader in oncology with critical mass in the areas of oncology discovery, development, regulatory affairs and commercialisation. Millennium and Takeda have complementary research, development and commercialisation capabilities, which have the potential to create a powerful new drug development engine and accelerate the potential of an emerging drug pipeline.

"Millennium greatly strengthens Takeda's global oncology portfolio, led by the flagship product Velcade, and further enhances its pipeline with clinically differentiated, high-quality product candidates," said Yasuchika Hasegawa, president of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.

Dr Deborah Dunsire, Millennium president and ceo, and the current management team will continue to lead the company.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of Millennium and Takeda.