Yasuchika Hasegawa, president of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, had a vision to make Takeda a top tier company in oncology by 2015. In 2008, Takeda acquired Millennium Pharmaceuticals, a respected oncology company with annual sales of $528 million in 2007 and a promising pipeline of new drugs. Hasegawa and Millennium CEO Deborah Dunsire believed that it was critical to convey a consistent vision for the future of Millennium within Takeda and help Millennium employees feel positive about the company's future. Millennium would operate independently and become Takeda's "Center of Excellence in Oncology." This case explores the steps that Hasegawa took to successfully integrate Millennium. His priorities centered on retaining Millennium talent and addressing the friction that arose from two very different corporate cultures. He also used the opportunity to transform Takeda's risk averse culture into a more innovative and flexible one that would support Takeda becoming a truly global pharmaceutical company.

In 2007, Takeda was a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company with sales primarily in Japan and the U.S. Although Takeda ranked around 15th in global sales, the pharmaceutical market had been shifting due to major industry consolidation. Yasuchika Hasegawa, the president of Takeda, was concerned about the future of the company. To counter the shrinking Japanese pharmaceutical market, Takeda had expanded its business to overseas markets. But Takeda's attempts to become a global company had been criticized as slow and not sufficiently aggressive. One reason for this was Takeda's risk-averse corporate culture. Worse, Takeda's R&D pipeline was shrinking, and patents on several of its major products were about to expire-which would inevitably lead to a decline in profits as generics entered the market. This case explores Hasegawa's plan to transform Takeda into a global pharmaceutical company in a rapidly changing market. It covers Takeda's history, industry trends, and Hasegawa's acquisition strategies.