Japan's Takeda buys Singapore biopharma start-up

Inviragen, which focuses on developing vaccines to protect against infectious diseases, was founded in 2005 and has offices in Singapore and the US. Its backers include US-based Venture Investors and Phillip Private Equity and EDBI, the investment arm of Singapore's Economic Development Board (EDB).

According to a release, Takeda will initially make an upfront payment of $35 million with future payments of up to $215 million linked to the progress of clinical development and achievement of commercial milestones.

Inviragen's vaccine to protect against dengue fever, DENVax, is in Phase 2 clinical testing and a vaccine designed to protect children from hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) has completed Phase 1 clinical testing.

"The acquisition is a testimony to the value of the vaccines being developed by the company," said Alex Koo, director of Phillip Private Equity. "We are very pleased with the investment. But more importantly, it also demonstrates that there are good early stage technology companies based in Singapore with leading edge technology that will deliver attractive returns to investors. Making informed decisions and taking calculated risks can be rewarding."

Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral illness, is one of four World Health Organization (WHO) future vaccine priorities. HFMD epidemics occur annually throughout the Asia Pacific region, with millions of cases reported yearly since 2010.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Healthcare
• North Asia
• Exits
• Singapore
• Pharmaceuticals
• Japan
• Exit
• healthcare
• Trade sale