Takeda results marked by strong Actos sales

Takeda, the Japanese pharmaceutical company, has cited strong sales of Actos, its treatment for diabetes, as it reported an increase in operating profits for its financial half-year.

Net income increased by 12.9 per cent over last year’s figures, helped by a favourable exchange rate between the yen and dollar, while net sales increased by 7.9 per cent.

Takeda’s president, Yasuchika Hasegawa, is quoted by Reuters as saying: “Prescription drug sales for such drugs as Actos and Blopress expanded rather briskly, allowing us to absorb the rising cost of [research & development].”

However, there are worries among some investors that Takeda could be becoming over-reliant on Actos revenues.

Masayuki Onozuka, a drugs analyst at JP Morgan Chase in Tokyo, told Bloomberg: “There should be little problem with those patients already taking Actos, but gaining new diabetes patients [will be tougher].”

Last week, Takeda’s product pipeline suffered a setback when it was announced that it is to discontinue the development of a prospective treatment for peripheral diabetic neuropathy, TAK-128.

Takeda and Mitsubishi Pharma, its development partner, said the compound failed to demonstrate “sufficient efficacy”.