Japan's Takeda forecasts rebound despite full-year profit drop

JAPAN'S Takeda Pharmaceutical said on Wednesday (May 11) its 12-month operating profit slid 9.5 per cent, although the country's largest drugmaker forecast a rebound for the current year.

Operating profit for the year that ended on Mar 31 came in at 461 billion yen (S$4.9 billion), compared with 509.27 billion yen in the year-ago period, reflecting the absence of one-time gains seen in fiscal 2021, the company said.

That compares with the drugmaker's earlier estimate of 515 billion yen and a consensus forecast of 509 billion yen from a Refinitiv poll of 15 analysts.

The company, meanwhile, estimated the current fiscal year's operating profit to touch 520 billion yen.

Takeda is domestically producing the Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Novavax, which was approved by Japanese regulators last month.

Japan has agreed to purchase 150 million doses, but prospects for the recombinant protein-type shot remains uncertain as the majority of its population has been already fully vaccinated.

Earlier this week, Novavax said it had shipped less than a fourth of the total Covid vaccine deliveries slated for 2022 and expected shipments to key markets and sales to increase in the current quarter.

Since its 2019 takeover of Shire for US$59 billion, Takeda has been under pressure to reduce debt and build out its drug pipeline to make up for the loss of patent protection of franchise drugs such as Vyvanse and Entyvio in the coming years. REUTERS