Takeda

Japanese pharmaceutical company, founded 1781. Represented by Andy Plump at Session II.

Transformation Under Plump

• ~15K → ~50K employees; ~$10B\to$30B revenue
• Japan from ~50% to ~10% of both revenue and employee base
• Resource mix flipped from ~70% early / 30% late to ~70% late / 30% early
• Eleven of first thirteen CEOs were named Takeda

AI Pivot

• Initially skeptical of AI — the myasthenia gravis program failure, solved by Nabla Bio’s in-silico design, flipped the stance
• New Cambridge wet lab — planned as largest in the city — will be AI-driven by default
• AI’s first real wins came from problems traditional methods had genuinely abandoned

Key Programs

• TAK-994 (orexin 2 agonist) — died in phase 2b from liver toxicity; backup molecule about to be registered
• Myasthenia gravis biologic — rescued by Nabla Bio’s AI-designed sequence