Takeda Pharmaceutical of Osaka, Japan, has acquired vaccine developer Inviragen, a biotech company specializing in innovative vaccines for emerging infectious diseases. Under the May 7 deal, Takeda will pay $35 million upfront and up to $215 million in clinical and commercial milestones to the Fort Collins, Colorado–based biotech. Takeda was attracted to Inviragen's vaccine expertise, and primarily its lead candidate DENVax, a tetravalent recombinant dengue fever vaccine in phase 2 testing, according to Rajeev Venkayya, executive vice president and head of Takeda's vaccine business division. The acquisition brings recombinant vaccine technology and additional live-attenuated vaccine capabilities to the big pharma. Last October Takeda also acquired Bozeman, Montana–based LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals for its virus-like particle and inactivated vaccine technologies, as well as a phase 1/2 vaccine candidate to prevent norovirus gastroenteritis. In addition to innovative technologies, each acquisition provides a distinct geographical reach, Venkayya explains. The norovirus vaccine could initially target populations in more developed countries, whereas the Inviragen candidates “would be more immediately beneficial to middle- and lower-income developing countries,” Venkayya says. Viren Mehta, founder and managing partner of Mehta Partners, a strategic and institutional advisory firm based in New York, says Takeda is taking a wise step towards the global vaccines market. More than half the world's population is at risk of becoming infected by the mosquito-borne dengue viruses, which are endemic throughout subtropical and tropical regions and cause more than 20,000 deaths each year. “Ten years ago, nobody wanted to hear about how developing markets would drive growth similar to the developed world,” Mehta says. “The Inviragen and LigoCyte acquisitions will be positioning Takeda over the next several years with the right set of innovations.”