It was announced that Julie Kim is set to replace Christophe Weber as the new CEO of Takeda Pharmaceutical, making her the first woman to lead the over 240-year-old Japanese drugmaker. At her 54, Kim has been overseeing Takeda's U.S. operations since 2022 and is expected to take on the CEO role in June of the following year, pending shareholder approval, according to a statement from the company.
According to Weber's statement, the appointment comes as Takeda expects strong growth with new product launches starting in the second half of 2026. He also mentioned that "now is the right time" for the leadership change.
Kim, a U.S. citizen, joined Takeda six years ago. Before running the U.S. operations, she was the company’s head of plasma-derived therapies.
In 2015, the drugmaker appointed Weber as its first non-Japanese CEO. He expanded Takeda’s global network and transformed the drugmaker into a biotechnology powerhouse specializing in gastroenterology, cancer, neurology, vaccines, and rare diseases. Under Weber’s leadership, Takeda bought U.K. drugmaker Shire PLC for $62 billion in 2019.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, the company reported that Takeda’s operating income had jumped 86% to ¥417.5 billion ($2.7 billion) for the nine months ending in December, driven by stronger product demand, the sale of a business unit, and the weak yen. Revenue increased by 9.8%, reaching ¥3.6 trillion.
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