The $770 million facility in Osaka, Japan will support global manufacturing and supply capabilities for plasma-derived therapies (PDTs), says Takeda.

The 100-billion-yen ($770 million) venture represents Takeda’s biggest manufacturing capacity expansion investment in Japan. According to the firm, the plant will be the “largest of its kind” in the country and is anticipated to be operational by around 2030.

Moreover, the facility will have almost five-times the capacity of its current PDT manufacturing site located in Narita, Japan. In turn, this will enable the company to reach more patients sustainably while adding capacity to its global production network.

DepositPhotos/selensergen

The Narita site will continue day-to-day operations until at least the end of the decade, and Takeda will invest what is necessary for maintenance.

“While demand is growing, timely diagnosis and treatment rates with immunoglobulins (IG) are currently much lower than in other parts of the world. Additionally, plasma-derived therapies are a core strategic business and central to our capital allocation strategy. It’s one of the fastest-growing parts of Takeda and has outperformed the industry over the past two years, demonstrating its resilience, in particular, throughout the global pandemic,” a spokesperson for Takeda told us.

The facility will include the latest automation and digital technologies as well as having fractionation, teardown, purification, fill-finish capabilities, and a cold storage warehouse. The firm also said the plant will be designed to be environmentally friendly, supporting Takeda’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions before 2035.

The spokesperson said the facility will employ around 400 people once operational and it is “working hard and investing in digital and data, and upgrading our facilities to better enable the new ways of working that best suit our teams around the world. At the new facility we are confident that we’ll be able to attract and retain top talent.”

In September 2022, Takeda announced an investment of nearly $300 million to expand its plasma-derived therapy site in Lessines, Belgium.