WYETH INCREASES EQUITY IN JOINT VENTURE WITH TAKEDA

U.S.-based drugmaker Wyeth has purchased an additional 10 percent stake in Wyeth KK (WKK), its Japanese-based joint venture with Takeda Pharmaceutical. These additional shares bring Wyeth's stake in the company to 80 percent. Specific financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Growth of WKK, Wyeth reported, has recently been largely driven by the arthritis drug Enbrel and the anticancer drug Mylotarg — both biological products that were launched in Japan in 2005.

"The partnership between Wyeth and Takeda to co-promote Enbrel should help make Japan one of the strongest markets for this important biotech product," noted Bernard Poussot, president of Wyeth.