Japanese pharmaceutical giant Takeda has said it remains committed to Ireland, after staff at its ‘P3’ plant at Grange Castle in Clondalkin were told that facility is to close. The plant is one of three facilities at the company’s Grange Castle site.
Takeda currently employs some 1000 people in Ireland across four locations in Baggot St, Bray, Citywest and Grange Castle. The P3 plant is believed to employ at least 100 people, many of whom have been left upset at the news of the impending closure, Gript was informed yesterday.
In a statement to Gript, a spokesperson for Takeda said that they “regularly evaluate our operations and processes as part of our efforts to make sure we are best positioned to provide innovative medicines to patients with the highest unmet needs. We are committed to operating in a transparent and ethical manner, and our people are our priority”.
“Any potential changes are subject to consultation with our employees at our P3 facility, one of three facilities at our Grange Castle site, Dublin, in line with proper employee engagement and consultation processes.”
“Takeda established operations in Ireland over 25 years ago and we remain committed to Ireland,” they said.
Alofisel, a cell therapy drug that is used to treat complex anal fistulas which are a feature of Crohn’s disease, is produced at Takeda Grange Castle P3.
Last October, Alofisel came up short in a phase 3 trial, when, in a 569-patient ADMIRE-CD II study, Alofisel did not meet its primary endpoint of combined remission at 24 weeks, Fierce Pharma reported.
Takeda did not report the full data, saving the reveal for a future medical meeting or a peer-reviewed journal, the Japan-based company said.
“While we are disappointed with this outcome, we recognize that medical research for difficult-to-treat conditions such as complex CPF remains challenging,” Chinwe Ukomadu, Takeda’s head of the GI & inflammation therapeutic area unit, said in a release. “We believe there are valuable lessons to learn from ADMIRE-CD II.”
Takeda did not reveal its plan for Alofisel as it continues to “assess the financial impacts of the study results, including impairment loss for intangible assets,” the company said. Any potential revisions to the company’s forecast for the fiscal year will be announced during its second-quarter earnings call on Oct. 26.