Takeda and Enterome Enter Strategic Drug Discovery Collaboration Focused on Microbiome Targets Across Multiple Gastrointestinal Disorders

OSAKA, Japan, PARIS, France and BOSTON, MA, USA I January 6, 2016 I Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. (TSE: 4502) and Enterome Bioscience SA ("Enterome") today announced they have entered into a strategic drug discovery collaboration to research and develop potential new therapeutics directed at microbiome targets thought to play crucial roles in gastrointestinal disorders, including inflammatory bowel diseases (e.g. ulcerative colitis) and motility disorders (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome).

"This strategic collaboration with Takeda is a significant achievement for Enterome and represents an important step towards realizing the full potential of our expertise and unique capabilities in unlocking the microbiome to generate new therapeutic solutions to serious diseases," commented Pierre Belichard, CEO of Enterome. "We are delighted to begin this new collaboration, which will combine our continuing leadership in the microbiome space and Takeda's global therapeutic drug discovery and development capabilities. It is also an important step for Enterome towards achieving its ambition to become a leading global biopharmaceutical company in the microbiome space."

"At Takeda, innovation is at the core of our efforts to bring new therapies to patients in the future," said Gareth Hicks, Ph.D., head of gastroenterology drug discovery for Takeda. "In partnering with scientists at Enterome, who perform cutting-edge research into microbiome-derived agents, Takeda is able to explore this exciting science and bring innovative therapies forward."

Enterome will use its proprietary metagenomic platform to support the discovery of potential novel agents (small molecules or biologics) derived from gut bacteria and directed to the GI targets selected by Enterome and Takeda. Takeda has an option to license selected agents on an exclusive global basis and will be responsible for their regulatory and clinical development as well as their commercialization.

Enterome will receive an upfront payment and 3-year R&D funding, and is eligible to receive additional payments for each molecule discovered through the collaboration in the form of option exercise, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. In addition, Enterome is eligible to receive potential tiered royalties on the net sales of any products that are commercialized by Takeda. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Enterome

Entrome is pioneering the development of novel drugs and diagnostics to support personalized therapies in microbiome-related diseases such as Gastrointestinal disorders, cancer and metabolic diseases.

Enterome is also leading the development of new industry standards in gut microbiome quantitative and functional analysis. This technology leadership allows Enterome to open up the new field of therapeutic target discovery in the microbiome in order to address significant unmet medical needs.

The Company was established in 2012 in Paris, France to develop the discoveries made by the INRA metagenomic platform. The Company has raised a total of €17.5 million from leading venture capital investors (Seventure Partners, Lundbeckfond Ventures & Omnes Capital) and two strategic investors (Shire & INRA transfer).

About Takeda

Located in Osaka, Japan, Takeda (TSE: 4502) is a research-based global company with its main focus on pharmaceuticals. As the largest pharmaceutical company in Japan and one of the global leaders of the industry, Takeda is committed to strive towards better health for people worldwide through leading innovation in medicine.

SOURCE: Takeda Pharmaceutical Co