Takeda terminates plans for Vaxem Hib launch in Japan

Discontinuation due to the vaccine supplier’s (GSK) decision to discontinue global production.

In January 2016, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare approved Takeda’s New Drug Application (NDA) for Vaxem Hib in children aged from 2 months to under 5 years of age, to prevent infections caused by Hib.

Takeda developed the vaccine for Japan in collaboration with Novartis and then GSK, following GSK’s acquisition of Novartis’ vaccine business in March 2015. Takeda had planned to launch the vaccine in Japan in early 2017. GSK recently made the decision to terminate global production and supply of Vaxem Hib, and subsequently informed Takeda of this decision. Takeda proposed alternatives to GSK to allow the launch of Vaxem Hib to proceed as planned, but GSK deemed these options unfeasible.

Takeda remains dedicated to protecting the health of the Japanese population through the provision of important vaccines. Takeda will maintain its focus on vaccine development programs against significant infectious diseases such as dengue, zika, norovirus and polio.