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EU: Takeda considers selling experimental drug to win EU approval

 |  October 28, 2018

Pharmaceutical company Takeda is talking with the European Commission about selling an experimental inflammatory bowel disease drug to help close its US$62 billion takeover of Shire.

In a statement released Friday, October 26, Takeda stated that it has been in discussions with the EC about divesting SHP647, which is in the final stages of experimental testing for the treatment of two gastrointestinal disorders: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

This specific drug has come to attention since Takeda already markets the drug Entyvio for those conditions. In just 2018, Entyvio sales brought Takeda US$1.8 billion.

The company claims that there are no other pharmaceuticals being discussed and that it doesn’t see any delays affecting the EC’s review being finished by its November 6 deadline.

The deal has already won approval from China, the US Federal Trade Commission, Brazil and Japan, making Europe the final major market that needs to sign off.

Full Content: Bloomberg

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