Beyond Borders: Global biotechnology report 2010

drug application for Lurasidone to the FDA
in 2010. It also gets Sepracor’s marketed
products, including insomnia drug Lunesta
and the asthma treatment Xopenex, as well
as Stedesa, an epilepsy treatment awaiting
marketing approval.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals, which made a
splash a couple of years earlier with its
US$8.8 billion acquisition of Millennium
Pharmaceuticals, acquired another
US-based company in May 2009, albeit
for a much smaller purchase price. The
company acquired California-based IDM
Pharma for US$54.3 million. The deal
allows Takeda to expand its oncology
franchise through the acquisition of
MEPACT, IDM Pharma’s treatment for
non-metastatic osteosarcoma.
In August, Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical
acquired Miami-based Noven
Pharmaceuticals for US$428 million.
The US$16.50-per-share purchase price
represents a 43% premium relative to
Noven’s average closing price for 90 days
preceding the announcement. Once again,
a key driver for the Japanese acquirer was
establishing a US presence. In addition,
Hisamitsu gained Noven’s capabilities in
transdermal drug development and intends
to incorporate Noven’s technologies into its
drug development efforts.
Outlook
The worst of the global financial crisis
appears to be over, but funding in the “new
normal” remains challenging for many
biotech companies across the world. In
Japan, where venture capital for emerging
companies was scarce even before the
crisis, the funding challenge is truly stark.
The Japanese Government continues to
make the biotech industry a major priority,
and efforts such as the INCJ could help,
provided a significant enough portion of
the funding goes to high-potential biotech
42 Beyond borders Global biotechnology report 2010
companies. But Japan’s biotech challenges
run deeper, and it is not simply a matter
of throwing money at the problem. In
that regard, it is encouraging that the
INCJ includes a vetting process and
experienced leadership to increase the
likelihood of funding truly innovative ideas
with commercial potential. To make sure
that Japanese innovations make the long
journey to commercialization, efforts will
need to be made to ensure that there is
sufficient funding at every stage. With those
changes, Japan might finally build a biotech
industry that reflects its long tradition of
technological and business leadership.