Takeda Pharma says Japan approves two flu vaccine drugs

TOKYO (Reuters) – Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd said on Monday it had received approval to manufacture and supply two vaccines for prevention of pandemic influenza from the Japanese health ministry. The New Drug Application for the vaccines, H5N1 “Takeda” and “Takeda”, was submitted in March 2013. Takeda had entered a development, licensing and technology transfer agreement with Baxter International Inc in 2010 in which Baxter licensed exclusive rights to its cell culture-based pandemic flu vaccine technology for the Japanese market. (Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Dominic Lau)