The Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited[takeꜜdajakɯçiŋkoꜜːɡʲoː] is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company, with partial American and British roots. It is the largest pharmaceutical company in Asia and one of the top 20 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world by revenue. The company has over 49,578 employees worldwide and achieved US$19.299 billion in revenue during the 2018 fiscal year. The company is focused on oncology, rare diseases, neuroscience, gastroenterology, plasma-derived therapies and vaccines. Its headquarters is located in Chuo-ku, Osaka, and it has an office in Nihonbashi, Chuo, Tokyo. In January 2012, Fortune Magazine ranked the Takeda Oncology Company as one of the 100 best companies to work for in the United States. As of 2015, Christophe Weber was appointed as the CEO and president of Takeda.
Genentech, Inc. is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It became an independent subsidiary of Roche in 2009. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent center within Roche. Historically, the company is regarded as the world's first biotechnology company.
Celgene Corporation is a pharmaceutical company that makes cancer and immunology drugs. Its major product is Revlimid (lenalidomide), which is used in the treatment of multiple myeloma, and also in certain anemias. The company is incorporated in Delaware, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, and a subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS).
Targeted therapy or molecularly targeted therapy is one of the major modalities of medical treatment (pharmacotherapy) for cancer, others being hormonal therapy and cytotoxic chemotherapy. As a form of molecular medicine, targeted therapy blocks the growth of cancer cells by interfering with specific targeted molecules needed for carcinogenesis and tumor growth, rather than by simply interfering with all rapidly dividing cells. Because most agents for targeted therapy are biopharmaceuticals, the term biologic therapy is sometimes synonymous with targeted therapy when used in the context of cancer therapy. However, the modalities can be combined; antibody-drug conjugates combine biologic and cytotoxic mechanisms into one targeted therapy.
Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited is a global pharmaceutical company and the second-largest pharmaceutical company in Japan. It achieved JPY 981.8 billion in revenue in 2019. The company owns the American biotechnology company Plexxikon, American pharmaceutical company American Regent, German biotechnology company U3 Pharma, and recently sold Ranbaxy Laboratories in India. Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. is the producer of Benicar (Olmesartan), an angiotensin II receptor antagonist and top selling drug in the U.S. Global sales of Olmesartan in 2013 were 300.2 billion yen.
Monoclonal antibody therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to bind monospecifically to certain cells or proteins. The objective is that this treatment will stimulate the patient's immune system to attack those cells. Alternatively, in radioimmunotherapy a radioactive dose localizes a target cell line, delivering lethal chemical doses. Antibodies are used to bind to molecules involved in T-cell regulation to remove inhibitory pathways that block T-cell responses. This is known as immune checkpoint therapy.
Glembatumumab vedotin is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that targets cancer cells expressing transmembrane glycoprotein NMB (GPNMB).
Antibody-drug conjugates or ADCs are a class of biopharmaceutical drugs designed as a targeted therapy for treating cancer. Unlike chemotherapy, ADCs are intended to target and kill tumor cells while sparing healthy cells. As of 2019, some 56 pharmaceutical companies were developing ADCs.
Arie S. Belldegrun, FACS, is an Israeli-American urologic oncologist, billionaire businessman and investor.
Seagen Inc. is an American biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative, empowered monoclonal antibody-based therapies for the treatment of cancer. The company, headquartered in Bothell, Washington, is the industry leader in antibody-drug conjugates or ADCs, a technology designed to harness the targeting ability of monoclonal antibodies to deliver cell-killing agents directly to cancer cells. Antibody-drug conjugates are intended to spare non-targeted cells and thus reduce many of the toxic effects of traditional chemotherapy, while potentially enhancing antitumor activity.
Sutro Biopharma, Inc. is a public biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco, California focused on clinical-stage drug discovery, development and manufacturing. Using a proprietary cell-free protein synthesis platform, Sutro is working on oncology therapeutics using protein engineering and rational design. Founded in 2003 under the name Fundamental Applied Biology, the company name changed to Sutro Biopharma in 2009. The current CEO, William Newell, joined Sutro in January 2009.
Kite Pharma is an American biotechnology company that develops cancer immunotherapy products, with a primary focus on genetically engineered autologous CAR T cell therapy, a cell-based therapy which relies on chimeric antigen receptors and T cells. Founded in 2009, and based in Santa Monica, California, it was acquired by Gilead Sciences in 2017.
Immune checkpoints are regulators of the immune system. These pathways are crucial for self-tolerance, which prevents the immune system from attacking cells indiscriminately. However, some cancers can protect themselves from attack by stimulating immune checkpoint targets.
Emactuzumab (RG-7155) is a humanized monoclonal antibody directed against colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R) expressed on macrophages and has demonstrated a profound antitumor effect through interference with the CSF-1/CSF-1R axis, along with a manageable safety profile in patients with diffuse-type tenosynovial giant cell tumors (d-TGCT).
Roivant Sciences Ltd. is a healthcare company focused on applying technology to drug development and building subsidiary biotech and healthcare technology companies, founded by Vivek Ramaswamy.
Halozyme Therapeutics is an American biotechnology company. It develops oncology therapies designed to target the tumor microenvironment.
Loncastuximab tesirine, sold under the brand name Zynlonta, is a monoclonal antibody conjugate medication used to treat large B-cell lymphoma and high-grade B-cell lymphoma. It is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) composed of a humanized antibody targeting the protein CD19.
Bempegaldesleukin (development code NKTR-214) is an experimental anti-cancer drug candidate. It is a PEGylated interleukin-2 (IL-2) acting as a CD122-preferential IL-2 pathway agonist designed to activate and proliferate CD8+ T cells and NK cells. It is being developed by Nektar Therapeutics.
Globo H (globohexaosylceramide) is a globo-series glycosphingolipid antigen that is present on the outer membrane of some cancer cells. Globo H is not expressed in normal tissue cells, but is expressed in a number of types of cancers, including cancers of the breast, prostate, and pancreas. Globo H’s exclusivity for cancer cells makes it a target of interest for cancer therapies.
SCTbio is global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) providing cGMP services of Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs). It operates in Europe and North America. The company has strong expertise in the development of autologous cell-based products, cell banking and all needle-to-needle GMP operations, including a validated apheresis collection sites network, product manufacturing, QC, GMP storage, QA/QP release, and worldwide drug products supply for clinical and commercial scale.
