
Paying down more debt, Takeda offloads prescription drug portfolio for $562 million
It’s been two years since Takeda’s $62 billion Shire buyout, and the Tokyo biotech is still restructuring.
The company struck a deal with Germany-based Cheplapharm to divest some non-core prescription products for an upfront payment of $562 million. The portfolio — which includes cardiovascular, metabolic and anti-inflammatory drugs sold mostly in Europe and Canada — doesn’t fit in with Takeda’s post-Shire vision. The biotech has since shifted its focus to gastroenterology (GI), rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology and neuroscience.

“These divestments represent another important milestone in our portfolio simplification and optimization strategy as we position Takeda for continued success across our five key business areas … ” Giles Platford, president of Takeda’s Europe & Canada business unit (EUCAN), said in a statement.
While the Shire buyout made Takeda a top 10 international drug company, it also saddled the company with a reported $48 billion in net debt. The biotech planned to shed $10 billion in non-core assets to balance it out.
Just a few months ago, Takeda announced plans to offload some of EUCAN’s non-core over-the-counter products to Orifarm Group for up to $670 million. Cheplapharm, on the other hand, is set to swallow a portfolio of prescription products that generated $260 million in net sales last year.
No employees are transferring in connection with the Cheplapharm deal, according to Takeda.
Last month, Takeda entered an agreement to sell its over-the-counter unit Takeda Consumer Healthcare Company to US private equity firm Blackstone Group for about $2.3 billion. It was Takeda’s fourth divestment deal this year.
In addition to the Orifarm deal, the biotech also agreed to divest assets in the Asia-Pacific to Celltrion for up to $278 million in June; and to Latin-American Hypera Pharma for $825 million in March. In August, Takeda began offering early retirement to Japanese employees.
Takeda expects to close the Cheplapharm deal by the end of this year.
“While the trusted products included in the sale address key patient needs in these countries, they are outside of our core business areas of focus. We are confident that Cheplapharm is the right partner to ensure patients continue to have access to these products,” CFO Costa Saroukos said in a statement.