
TOKYO -- Takeda Pharmaceutical plans to become the first Japanese drugmaker to market vaccines on a global scale, taking advantage of access to new sales channels gained from its acquisition of Irish peer Shire last year.
Takeda is developing what would be the world's first vaccine for dengue fever that can be given to children as young as four. Dengue is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes that is endemic in much of the world, with 400 million infections and 20,000 deaths each year.