Baxter, Takeda Enter Flu Vax Pact in Japan

Baxter International and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. have entered a development, license and technology transfer agreement to bring Vero cell culture-based influenza vaccines to the Japanese market. Takeda will exclusively license Baxter’s Vero cell-based flu vaccine technology and the companies will jointly pursue development and licensure of an H5N1 flu vaccine in Japan.

Baxter will assist Takeda in obtaining funding from the Japanese government for the construction of a manufacturing facility in Japan. The two companies will undertake a technology transfer to enable Takeda to manufacture the vaccine at full-scale by March 2014.

Baxter will receive upfront payments, development cost reimbursements, development, technology transfer, regulatory and commercial milestones, and royalties on sales of Vero cell-based flu vaccines.

“The agreement with Takeda is an important milestone in extending the field of cell culture-based vaccine development and production,” said Robert L. Parkinson, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Baxter. “We believe our joint efforts will help support Japan’s public health efforts, particularly in the high-priority area of pandemic preparedness.”

“By collaborating with Baxter, a global leader in cell culture-based vaccine technology for influenza, we plan to establish an infrastructure for the production of pandemic vaccines in Japan,” said Yasuchika Hasegawa, president and chief executive officer of Takeda. “We are committed to fulfilling our social responsibility as a pharmaceutical company by delivering vaccine to the Japanese market as soon as possible.”