Takeda takes $2.5bn legal charge after pay-for-delay verdict, swings to loss for FY2025

Takeda (TAK) swung to a net loss for its 2025 fiscal year after recording a $2.5bn legal charge stemming from a landmark antitrust verdict, the Japanese drugmaker said on June 5.

A federal jury in Boston ruled last month that Takeda had conspired with former partner Sucampo Pharmaceuticals to delay generic competition for its constipation treatment Amitiza — the first time a jury has found a drugmaker liable in a so-called pay-for-delay antitrust case. The jury initially awarded damages of at least $885mn, comprising $475mn for direct purchasers and $347mn for individual retailers, though the final amount has not been determined. Under US antitrust law, damages can automatically be trebled, putting Takeda's potential exposure at roughly $2.5bn.

To reflect that liability, the company recorded an additional provision for legal proceedings of ¥402.5bn ($2.5bn), reversing an originally reported net profit of ¥192bn ($1.19bn) into a net loss of ¥152bn ($949mn) for the fiscal year ended March 2026. Total revenue of ¥4.5tn ($28bn) was unaffected.

Takeda said it intends to "vigorously pursue" post-trial motions and an appeal, and will also seek a stay on the judgment. "We remain firm in our conviction that the plaintiffs' case lacks merit," the company said, adding that it believed "evidentiary and legal errors" had occurred during the trial.

Chief financial officer Milano Furuta said the charge would not alter the company's underlying trajectory. "This matter doesn't change our fundamental business momentum nor our guidance for FY2026," he said.

The suit, filed in 2021 by pharmacies, health funds, insurers and retailers, alleged that Takeda and Sucampo entered a $210mn settlement with Par Pharmaceutical in 2014 that delayed generic versions of Amitiza — approved in 2006 — from reaching the market until 2021. Takeda no longer sells the drug, having ceased its license arrangement with Sucampo in 2024.

The company said it would "continue to assess" the financial impact of the litigation, with final judgment expected later this year.

Looking ahead, Takeda forecast revenue of ¥4.64tn ($28.9bn) for fiscal year 2026, anchored by three major product launches: narcolepsy treatment oveporexton, polycythemia vera candidate rusfertide and psoriasis medicine zasocitinib. The company is also pursuing a cost-transformation program targeting annualized savings of more than ¥200bn ($1.26bn) by 2028, which will involve reducing approximately 4,500 roles over the current financial year.