TOKYO (AP) — Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Japan’s biggest drug maker, will move its global research and development headquarters across the Pacific to Illinois, the company said Tuesday. The shift is part of Takeda’s midterm plan, through which it seeks to boost its global operations and introduce new products ahead of the 2011 patent expiration of its hit diabetes drug Actos. The R&D transfer from Osaka, western Japan to its facility in Deerfield, Ill. will be completed by July 1, the company said. “Takeda is making meaningful changes in structure and governance through this reorganization … which we believe will further strengthen our global operations structure,” said President Yasuchika Hasegawa in a statement. The Japanese drug maker stands to lose substantial revenue after Actos expires and has been working to develop new drugs to fill the looming hole. Earlier this month, the company hit a roadblock when the Food and Drug Administration said that the existing clinical data for its new diabetes drug SYR-322, known as alogliptin, was not sufficient. The FDA says it will rule on the drug by June 26.
