Takeda's $13.6 Bil. Nycomed Buy Meets Multiple Strategic, Financial Imperatives

Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.'s €9.6 billion ($13.6 billion) purchase of privately held Nycomed AS, confirmed May 19 after a week of speculation, satisfies a number of strategic and financial imperatives for Japan's largest drug maker, as it faces generic competition to best-selling diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone) from 2012 and seeks to expand its footprint beyond Japan and the U.S.