Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited has announced a reciprocal agreement with IDT Biologika GmbH (“IDT”), contract development and production, to leverage capacity at IDT previously reserved for Takeda's dengue vaccine candidate (TAK-003) to produce the single-shot COVID-19 vaccine developed by the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. 

At the end of a three-month period, capacity will be returned to Takeda to resume critical production ahead of the scheduled launch of its dengue vaccine, subject to regulatory approvals.

“We are delighted to partner with IDT to support Janssen's efforts to make its COVID-19 vaccine available and accessible to as much of the world as possible,” said Rajeev Venkayya, President, Global Vaccine Business Unit at Takeda. "We also recognize the tremendous unmet need for a dengue vaccine and will work closely with IDT to reduce the impact on TAK-003 delivery."

With this agreement, Takeda is now supporting global access to three different COVID-19 vaccines. Takeda previously announced its commitment to providing rapid and sustained access to COVID-19 vaccines in Japan through partnerships with Novavax and Moderna. Takeda will receive a manufacturing technology transfer from Novavax and will be responsible for the development and commercialization based on manufacturing capacity of over 250 million doses.

The company will also import and distribute 50 million doses of Moderna's mRNA COVID-19 vaccine as part of a joint partnership with Moderna and the Government of Japan’s Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare (MHLW).