Takeda Ventures, the venture arm of Japanese pharmaceutical firm Takeda, has closed an equity investment of €3m in Univercells, a Belgian company that designs single-use bioprocess solutions for biomanufacturing.
Takeda will integrate Univercells’ continuous integrated manufacturing methods into its vaccines production platform with the aim of producing affordable vaccines for developing countries.
Founded in 2013, Univercells focuses on high-density, low-cost manufacturing of biologics.
'Equal access to health around the globe is critical and we believe this comes through decentralised production, which is the biggest challenge in this new era of biomanufacturing,' said Jose Castillo, CTO of Univercells.
'Partnering with Takeda is a strong sign [that] we are heading in the right direction. We are excited to collaborate with a pioneering global player focused on helping people above all else,' added Hugues Bultot, CEO of Univercells.
Rajeev Venkayya, President of Takeda’s Vaccine Business Unit, said: 'Takeda is committed to making its vaccines available to people in need, wherever they may live. Reducing production costs while maintaining the highest levels of quality is an important part of our access strategy, and manufacturing science plays a critical role.'