Takeda opens new global research facility in San Diego, US

With over 250 employees, the San Diego research center will focus on leveraging specialized drug discovery technologies, as well as advancing discovery research in gastroenterology and neuroscience, said Takeda.

The new research facility will house four research platform groups, including structural biology, early target discovery, computational biology and biologics, to discover and advance promising molecules.

The San Diego facility is said to complement the company’s global research and development (R&D) center in Cambridge of Massachusetts and its other global research site in Shonan of Japan.

The research center is expected to play a key role in connecting local collaborators with the firm’s global network of over than 200 research partners, in addition to the internal research conducted on site.

The R&D efforts of the firm in four therapeutic areas, including oncology, gastroenterology (GI), neuroscience and rare diseases, with targeted investments also pledged to plasma-derived therapies (PDT) and vaccines.

As part of its drug discovery and development efforts for diverse products, the company works with partners to advance innovation and deliver transformative therapies to patients.

Takeda said that more than 50% of its research pipeline focuses on non-small molecules, including biologics, peptides, oligonucleotides, cell and gene therapy, the microbiome and other modalities.

Via its venture group, the company has committed $35m to Southern California startup companies in the last three years to boost up the life sciences cluster in the region.

Takeda research head Dr Steve Hitchcock said: “Our San Diego research center demonstrates an ideal balance between highly specialized internal research competencies and dedication to external partnerships both within the local community and on a global scale.

“By consulting with and leveraging our relationships with academic and industry partners and patient groups, we are able to operate nimbly and efficiently to advance early discovery research that could potentially translate into transformative, life-changing therapies for patients in need, complementing our efforts in our other global research centers in Cambridge and Shonan.”