Takeda is setting the stage for a sweeping new round of restructuring, aiming to streamline operations to bankroll upcoming drug launches and late-stage pipeline development.
Unveiled Wednesday, the initiative seeks to deliver more than 200 billion Japanese yen ($1.26 billion) in annual gross savings by Takeda’s 2028 fiscal year.
The March 25 announcement didn’t quantify the exact impact on Takeda’s workforce, though the company stated increased efficiencies will be driven by streamlining corporate functions, “bringing leadership and teams closer to patients and customers” and simplifying processes through advanced technologies.
Takeda billed the initiative as the next step in the company’s transformation under the new business structure it unveiled in January, which will take effect when the Japanese pharma begins its 2026 fiscal year in April. And the move could be viewed as a continuation of an organizational overhaul revealed in May 2024, which was designed to push Takeda’s operating profit margin above 30%.
This transformation comes with a significant price tag. Takeda expects the new initiative will cost 150 billion yen ($940 million) in restructuring expenses during the 2026 fiscal year, with additional but lower separation costs coming in the following two years.
A Takeda spokesperson declined to share details on potential layoffs but said “specifics will vary by organization and by country.”
For the first overhaul announced in 2024, Takeda recorded 128 billion yen ($800 million) in restructuring costs in the fiscal year ended in March 2025. During that period, the company’s full-time equivalent head count was reduced by more than 1,800 employees (3.7%), according to its annual report.
By simplifying its corporate structure, Takeda intends to reallocate resources toward its R&D pipeline, upcoming launches and strategic technology investments.
“Today, Takeda is setting the stage to make a greater impact on the lives of patients as we prepare to launch multiple new medicines and continue to deliver on the promise of our pipeline,” Julie Kim, Takeda’s CEO-elect who will officially take the reins in June, said in a March 25 statement. “The deliberate steps we are taking will strengthen our ability to execute with speed while strategically prioritizing resources and positioning ourselves for long-term growth and success in the next era.”
Potential upcoming rollouts from Takeda include narcolepsy drug oveporexton; an injectable called rusfertide designed to treat the rare blood disorder polycythemia vera; and zasocitinib, a TYK2 rival to Bristol Myers Squibb’s Sotyktu.
Takeda entered restructuring mode in 2024 in response to the rapid revenue decline of its attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder blockbuster Vyvanse following its patent expiration. Organizational simplicity, reducing layers and fine-tuning operating models were key goals of the plan.
In January, the company outlined plans to shake up its executive leadership team and business structure. It’s creating an international business unit to manage all markets outside the U.S., bringing together previously separate commercial teams. It’s also forming a strategy and portfolio development function to handle all things portfolio strategy and business development.
Takeda is far from alone in its pursuit of a leaner model. Pharma giants including Novartis, Bayer, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb and Merck & Co. have all launched similar cost-cutting and reorganization measures. A recent Fierce Pharma analysis found that the largest drugmakers, each with more than $20 billion in 2025 revenue, collectively reduced their head counts by more than 22,000 last year.
Takeda is scheduled to report its full-year fiscal 2025 results May 13.