Takeda receives grant to support polio eradication efforts

Takeda has been provided with a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fund efforts to eradicate polio in developing countries.

The company will receive a $38 million (26.31 million pounds) grant to develop, license and supply at least 50 million doses per year of Sabin-strain inactivated poliovirus vaccine (sIPV) to more than 70 developing nations.

To be manufactured at Takeda's facility in Hikari, Japan, the product will be developed using Takeda's innovative vaccine manufacturing platform and will be made available at an affordable price for countries receiving support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

These plans will align with the company's strategy to utilise innovative partnerships to address critical unmet needs in global public health, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in September 2015.

Christophe Weber, president and chief executive officer of Takeda, said: "Takeda is honoured to partner with the Gates Foundation to support the polio endgame. This represents a major commitment by a Japanese company to the health of children in developing countries around the world."

Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Although there is no cure, the available vaccines are safe and effective, meaning the disease can be wiped out by immunising every child until transmission stops.