Takeda Pharmaceuticals (TAK.US) is the Japanese partner of Novavax Pharmaceuticals (NVAX.US) for the new crown vaccine. Takeda Pharmaceutical executives said on Friday that the company is preparing to seek regulatory approval and plans to launch the vaccine in Japan early next year. Novavax Pharmaceuticals will postpone the emergency use authorization of the new crown vaccine in the United States until the end of this year.
Earlier, some media reported that the company’s vaccines were facing production and quality problems. Recently, Novavax Pharmaceuticals applied for the new crown vaccine authorization to the regulatory agencies in the United Kingdom and Australia.
Christophe Weber, CEO of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, said, “We need to evaluate whether the proposal submitted in the UK can satisfy the Japanese authorities.”
He said that once approved, Takeda Pharmaceuticals will immediately produce the vaccine.
Takeda Pharmaceutical said it can produce 250 million doses of Novavax vaccine at its factory in western Japan and has signed a sales contract for 150 million doses with the Japanese government.
According to data from health data company IQVIA Holdings, in the next five years, Japan’s new crown vaccine expenditure may reach about 1.37 trillion yen ($12.1 billion), and Takeda has a considerable first-mover advantage.
