Takeda Exits AAV Gene Therapy and Early-Stage Rare Hematology Assets, Plans Workforce Reduction

On April 6, according to Fierce Biotech, Takeda is withdrawing from early-stage research and development efforts in gene therapy based on adeno-associated virus (AAV) and rare hematology, and some related employees may be laid off.

A spokesperson for Takeda stated that the decision to terminate AAV gene therapy and rare hematology discovery and preclinical work aims to focus the company’s resources on core therapeutic areas and late-stage clinical projects, such as the oral TYK2 inhibitor TAK-279.

TAK-279 is an oral selective tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor that Takeda acquired through its $6 billion purchase of Nimbus Lakshmi, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nimbus Therapeutics, at the end of last year. It is being evaluated for the treatment of various autoimmune diseases. This product is a potential competitor to Bristol-Myers Squibb's first-in-class TYK2 inhibitor, deucravacitinib (Sotyktu), which was approved by the FDA in September 2022 for the treatment of plaque psoriasis.

In recent years, Takeda has continued to heavily invest in the gene therapy field. From March 2020 to May 2022, Takeda reached 10 collaborations in this area, with a total value exceeding 9 billion US dollars, but most of them did not involve AAV gene therapy. The companies affected this time include Codexis, Selecta Biosciences, and Poseida.

Takeda stated that the new changes would not impact its clinical development pipeline and commercialized products, and they will continue to advance late-stage clinical drugs for rare diseases.

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