Takeda turns to AI drug designer for $1B biobucks deal after whittling down R&D focus

(Oct 22, 2025) by Nick Paul Taylor.

Takeda is paying Innovent Biologics $1.2 billion upfront for rights to two cancer candidates. The deal, which includes (PDF) $10.2 billion in milestones, puts the biologics at the center of Takeda’s efforts to establish growth drivers for the post-Entyvio era.

Inflammatory bowel disease drug Entyvio is central to Takeda’s commercial operations. With a series of patents set to expire through 2032, the drugmaker is preparing for rivals to try to launch biosimilar copies of Entyvio in the coming years. It is unclear exactly when biosimilars will start eroding the drug’s sales, but Takeda knows the threat is coming. An attempt to make cell therapy a growth area failed.

Takeda has identified Innovent assets as an answer to the question of which products will drive growth in the 2030s, continuing a string of major deals between global and Chinese drugmakers. The deal gives Takeda rights to two candidates, IBI363 and IBI343, that have shown promise in the treatment of patients with certain solid tumors.