Takeda unveils Boston Research and Development Center to promote cell therapy pipeline.

The key 〡 a strategy to cut billions of dollars in costs and focus on research and development of drugs for cancer and rare diseases is the key to a new generation of cell therapies.
September 15, Takeda said it had opened a 2,000-square-meter research and development center in Boston that would be responsible for the clinical development of three ongoing pipeline projects, with two more expected to enter clinical development by the end of 2021.
projects currently under development in Takeda include TAK-007, a clinical phase 1/2 inlay antigen-directed natural killer (CAR-NK) cell therapy, and two CAR-T therapies: TAK-940, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC, Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) cooperates in the treatment of relapsed/refractic B-cell cancer; TAK-102, in collaboration with Noile-ImmuneBiotech, develops the treatment of solid tumors.
's huge investment in cell therapy production comes as Takeda consolidates its U.S. operations in the Boston area, acquiring Shire for $62 billion in 2018 and then planning to relocate its Chicago headquarters to the Boston area where Shire is located.
, Takeda sold its Headquarters building in Dearfield, Chicago, to Horizon Therapeutics for $115 million.
's location will allow Takeda to enter an "innovative and fast-paced" biotechnology center, ingesting Takeda at the forefront of cell therapy.
As Takeda's position in Boston grew stronger, Takeda slashed its global operations and portfolio, pledging to cut costs by about $2 billion a year by the end of 2021 and eventually laying off 6 to 7 percent of its workforce (about 3,600).
's acquisition of Shire, Takeda has $31 billion in debt and plans to sell up to $10 billion worth of assets to pay down debt, excluding key areas such as gastrointestinal diseases, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology and neuroscience.
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