CDF Voice | Christophe Weber, Representative Director-President & CEO of Takeda

On behalf of Takeda, I would like to thank the China Development Forum for inviting me to participate in this important event once again. I am pleased to join global leaders to discuss the ongoing modernization, progress and innovation in China.

Takeda is a leading, values-based, R&D-driven digital biopharmaceutical company. We aim to discover and deliver life-transforming treatments in our core therapeutic and business areas, including gastrointestinal & inflammation, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, neuroscience. Our global footprint is aligned with key market opportunities and has positioned us to deliver on our commitment to patients, our people and the planet.

Over the past three decades, we have built a strong presence in China, spanning from clinical development through to manufacturing, supply chain and commercialization, in support of China’s modernization efforts in health care. Most recently, we announced a collaboration agreement with the city of Chengdu to establish the Takeda China Innovation Center. This is a digital capability center that expands our strategic blueprint for digital innovation and enables us to better serve patients.

China is now the world’s second-largest pharmaceutical industry market. As its economic development and population have grown, so have its underlying health care demands. China is an important country for Takeda, and we are committed to advancing innovation and providing sustainable access to our medicines in the country. Our strategic agenda is aligned with progress in advancing health care development in China, as the Chinese government has committed to strengthening biopharmaceutical innovation, and ensuring Chinese patients have greater access to innovative medicines.

This year, the topic of CDF Voice is ‘Unleashing Development Momentum.’ I believe this connects well with Takeda's purpose of creating better health for people and a brighter future for the world. Both require a shared vision, the relentless pursuit of innovation and collaboration to contribute significant value to society.

But we must acknowledge that today’s health systems globally are under tremendous strain and are struggling to meet patient needs.

Since these systems were designed, life expectancy has increased, populations have aged, and treatments have advanced significantly. This has created a tough environment for our industry. Reimbursement policies are insufficient to sustain the R&D investment needed to produce the innovation that society expects. Developing medical breakthroughs is a time-consuming and capital-intensive process with no guarantee of success. Data and digital technologies are rapidly advancing, but many countries and health care systems are not prepared for it.

As I reflect on this year’s CDF topic and Takeda’s own efforts to contribute to a more sustainable health care ecosystem, there are two areas I would like to highlight where we need to continue to build momentum:First, we must continue to support the development of and access to new treatment options for patient populations with high unmet need.

Takeda China is focused on four of our core therapeutic and business areas, including oncology, rare disease, gastroenterology and plasma-derived therapies. Takeda has launched 15 new therapies over the past 5 years in China, benefiting more than 10 million patients in the country. The number of new launches, combined with fast access through national reimbursement drug list, support our aspiration to provide patients in China with access to our most innovative medicines as quickly as possible.

We acknowledge the significant progress and efforts made by the central government, for example, on incentive policies for the pharmaceutical industry, aiming to promote the development of innovative medicines. These policies include the Implementation Plan for Full-Chain Support of Innovative Drug Development, allowing foreign enterprises to engage in cell and gene therapy technology development and application in designated areas.And the guidelines that China's State Council issued on deepening the reform of drug and medical device regulation to promote high-quality development of the pharmaceutical industry. These policies and measures are encouraging. And we look forward to continuing to work with our key partners to accelerate access to Takeda’s medicines for patients in China.

Second, we must continue to foster strategic partnerships to better serve patients and to unlock the potential of data, technology and AI to transform health care.

As I shared last year, we acquired an exclusive license for HUTCHMED’s Fruquintinib, outside of China, Hong Kong and Macau to support global access to this important medicine developed here in China. After successful launch in the US, we also launched it in Japan and Spain. I am looking forward to seeing this China-origin product serve more patients in coming years.

We are also very pleased that the China Medical Products Administration accepted our new drug application in July 2024 for a therapy to potentially treat adults with hemophilia B. This milestone development means that this product is expected to become the first AAV-based gene therapy approved for hemophilia B in China.

Data, digital and technology, are already embedded in our lives, and AI has become the most recent accelerator, poised to reshape health care, much like the internet profoundly transformed our lives. Takeda is committed to incorporating data and digital technologies into every aspect of our organization to help develop and deliver medicines to patients more efficiently and to improve patient outcomes. This is about creating value and building trust – because collaboration is critical, and we all have a role to play in digital transformation.

For more than 20 years, the China Development Forum has played an important role in deepening the international community's understanding of China and uncovering opportunities for collaboration.

I look forward to engaging in further discussions and learning more about China's progress in economic development, medical innovation, scientific research and other areas.

Thank you.

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