The European Commission has approved under the EU Merger Regulation the acquisition of Shire by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. The decision is conditional on the divestment of a biologic treatment product under development by Shire to treat inflammatory bowel disease.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, responsible for competition policy, said: “There are many diseases with only a limited number of effective and safe treatments. Inflammatory bowel disease is one such case. It is a lifelong condition with devastating effects on people’s lives. Therefore, it is essential that companies continue developing promising new products to treat it. We can today approve the merger between Shire and Takeda, but only subject to the divestment of the product that Shire is developing to treat the disease and which could have been lost through the merger. This will preserve innovation in this market and, importantly, increase the choice of treatments for patients.”
The Commission’s investigation focused on treatments for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and in particular on biologic treatments for the disease, where Shire’s and Takeda’s activities overlap.
IBD is a lifelong disease, with patients often being diagnosed at a young age. Conventional treatments, such as anti-inflammatory drugs and corticosteroids, have limited effect and patients are therefore prescribed biologic treatments when the disease becomes more severe.
Takeda already offers a biologic treat
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