Takeda Developing Plasma-Derived Therapy for COVID-19

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Tokyo, Japan) has initiated the development of an anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal hyperimmune globulin (H-IG) to treat high-risk individuals with COVID-19, while also studying whether the company’s currently marketed and pipeline products may be effective treatments for infected patients.

Takeda is a R&D-driven biopharmaceutical company focusing on four therapeutic areas: oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience, and gastroenterology. The company also makes targeted R&D investments in plasma-derived therapies and vaccines. Hyperimmune globulins are plasma derived-therapies that have previously been shown to be effective in the treatment of severe acute viral respiratory infections and may be a treatment option for COVID-19. Takeda has the expertise to research, develop, and manufacture a potential anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal H-IG, which the company is referring to as TAK-888.

Takeda is currently in discussions with multiple national health and regulatory agencies and health care partners in the US, Asia, and Europe to expeditiously move the research into TAK-888 forward. This requires access to source plasma from people who have successfully recovered from COVID-19 or who have been vaccinated, once a vaccine is developed. These convalescent donors have developed antibodies to the virus that could potentially mitigate severity of illness in COVID-19 patients and possibly prevent it.

H-IG works by concentrating the pathogen-specific antibodies from plasma collected from recovered patients or vaccinated donors in the future. By transferring the antibodies to a new patient, it may help that person’s immune system respond to the infection and increase their chance of recovery. In addition, Takeda is exploring whether select marketed therapies and molecules in its drug library could be viable candidates for the effective treatment of COVID-19.

“As a company dedicated to the health and well-being of people around the world, we will do all that we can to address the novel coronavirus threat,” said Dr. Rajeev Venkayya, President of Takeda’s Vaccine Business Unit and co-lead of the company’s COVID-19 response team. “We have identified relevant assets and capabilities across the company and are hopeful that we can expand the treatment options for patients with COVID-19 and the providers caring for them.”

“Plasma-derived therapies are critical, life-saving medicines that thousands of people with rare and complex diseases rely on every day around the world,” said Dr. Chris Morabito, Takeda’s Head of Research and Development, Plasma-Derived Therapies Business Unit. “Our heritage, combined with our scale, expertise and capabilities, uniquely position Takeda to realize the potential of plasma-derived therapies, such as TAK-888.”

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