Takeda drops cancer candidates, axing immunocytokine and CAR-Ts amid shifting treatment landscape

Takeda vision of becoming a leader in oncology ran into more trouble Thursday when the drugmaker axed (PDF) a midphase immunocytokine and three early-stage CAR-T cell therapy prospects from its R&D pipeline.

Under CEO Christophe Weber, Takeda has worked to establish itself as a leader in oncology. But, as the executive said on a quarterly results call with investors, the company has “had some wins ... [and] some setbacks.” The results brought news of more setbacks, with Takeda using the update to reveal it has dropped a clutch of cancer candidates led by modakafusp alfa.

Formerly known as TAK-573, modakafusp alfa consists of two interferon alpha-2b molecules fused to an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody. The idea was to activate innate and adaptive immune cells—while also directly stopping the proliferation of multiple myeloma cells through targeted interferon signaling.

Takeda began a phase 1/2a Darzalex combination trial one year ago, adding to the slate of studies run in support of the immunocytokine, but has now pulled the plug on the program. Andrew Plump, M.D., Ph.D., president of R&D at Takeda, explained the decision on the conference call with investors. 

Optimize Your trial insights with Clival Database.

Are you exhausted from the uncertainty of trial insights pricing? Clival Database ensures the clarity in the midst of the global scenario for clinical trials to you.

Clival Database is one of the best databases that offers an outstanding number of clinical trial data in terms of 50,000+ molecules and from primary regulatory markets as well as new entrants like Indian and Chinese markets.

With Clival, you get accurate positioning of historical sales data, patent database, company profiling, safety & efficacy, and prediction of launch of new innovative molecules helping you to align your research and driving down the cost.

To add value, we further break down our analytics for you so that improving your operational effectiveness; optimizing your clinical trials; and offering you accurate and high-quality data at lowest possible prices becomes possible.

Elevate your trial success rate with the cutting-edge insights from Clival database.

Check it out today and make more informed sourcing decisions! Learn More!