Item 3. Key Information

The following table presents selected financial information as of and for the years ended March 31, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, derived from our consolidated financial statements. These financial statements are prepared in accordance with IFRS.

The selected consolidated financial information set forth below should be read in conjunction with Item 5. “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and our consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in this annual report.

Note:

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Any investment in our common stock or ADSs involves risk. Investors should carefully consider, in light of their own financial circumstances and investment objectives, the following risks before making an investment decision with respect to our common stock or ADSs. If any of the following risks actually occurs, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects, and the market value of our common stock or ADSs may be adversely affected.

The risks discussed below are those that we believe are material, but these risks and uncertainties may not be the only risks that we face. Additional risks that are not known to us at this time, or that are currently believed to be not material, could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, future prospects and the market value of our common stock or ADSs.

 

Risks Relating to the Shire Acquisition

We may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of the Shire Acquisition and expect to continue to record significant expenses related to it.

On January 8, 2019, we acquired the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of Shire pursuant to a Scheme of Arrangement under the laws of Jersey (the “Shire Acquisition”). The success of the Shire Acquisition depends on our ability to realize the anticipated growth opportunities and synergies leading to cost savings we expect from combining the companies' businesses. We will need to continue to devote significant time and resources to the reorganization of our personnel structure, enhancement of cost-efficiency and the strengthening of management and operational functions in order to realize the anticipated synergies of the Shire Acquisition. We expect to incur non-recurring cash costs totaling approximately $3.0 billion in connection with the integration of Shire in the first three fiscal years following the completion of the Shire Acquisition.

Furthermore, in connection with the Shire Acquisition and the application of our inventory policies to the acquired businesses, we recognized significant non-cash expenses relating to the unwinding of fair value adjustments to inventory as a component of cost of sales in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019 and expect that such expenses will increase in future fiscal years. We also recorded significant intangible assets in connection with the Shire Acquisition and, as a result, amortization and impairment losses increased significantly in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, and are expected to continue to increase in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.

As a result of the non-recurring cash costs in connection with the integration of Shire, the continued expenses relating to the unwinding of fair value adjustments to inventory, the increase in amortization and impairment losses on certain intangible assets and ongoing financial expenses (such as interest expenses) related to the Shire Acquisition, we expect to record a net loss in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020. We expect certain of these expenses to continue into the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.

We recorded significant amounts of goodwill in connection with the Shire Acquisition, and, if we are unable to achieve the anticipated benefits of this acquisition, we could be required to recognize significant impairment losses related to such goodwill and to intangible assets recorded in connection with the acquisition, potentially up to their full value.

The expected synergies of the Shire Acquisition and the projected cash costs necessary to achieve the synergies may be affected by changes in the overall economic, political and regulatory environment, including applicable tax regimes and fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, and the realization of the other risks relating to our business described herein. Furthermore, the integration process may divert management’s attention from other strategic opportunities and the day-to-day operation of our business. If we are not able to successfully manage the integration process and create a unified business culture, the anticipated benefits of the acquisition and subsequent integration may not be realized fully or at all or may take longer or prove more costly to realize than expected.

Although integration activities are underway, we may face significant challenges in integrating the organizations, business cultures, procedures and operations of Takeda and Shire, including:

Additionally, because we issued a significant number of additional shares of our common stock as part of the consideration for the Shire Acquisition, a failure to achieve the anticipated benefits of the Shire Acquisition could negatively affect our earnings per share.

We are subject to additional risks arising from the acquired businesses of Shire, particularly its plasma-derived and rare disease therapies, and from the legal, regulatory and tax regimes that Shire operated under.

We have assumed the risks related to Shire’s businesses, which differ from, or will amplify, certain risks we faced prior to the Shire Acquisition. For example, markets outside Japan, particularly the United States, represent a larger portion of the legacy Shire business than ours, and our overall exposure to these markets has increased following the completion of the Shire Acquisition. Additionally, the acquired Shire businesses include new areas for us, such as rare diseases and plasma-derived therapies. Plasma-derived therapies, in particular, present significant challenges relating to the sourcing and transportation of plasma, and production and distribution of plasma-derived products, all of which are complex and subject to extensive regulation, in addition to being capital intensive. If we are unable to manage this new business effectively, we may lose market share or customer confidence, be required to record charges related to idle capacity or impairment on facilities or take other actions which could materially and adversely affect the plasma-derived therapies business. Moreover, sales for the rare disease portfolio we acquired as part of the Shire Acquisition are particularly concentrated among small groups of customers, and we may be disproportionately affected by changes in their purchasing patterns, including if we are unable to appropriately manage this business.

Furthermore, we have become subject to additional legal, regulatory and tax regimes applicable to the acquired businesses of Shire, many of which are complex and could subject us to additional risks or liabilities. For example, the legacy Shire business is subject to evolving and complex tax laws in various jurisdictions and Shire routinely obtained advice on tax matters, including the tax treatment of the break fee of $1.635 billion it received in connection with the terminated offer to acquire Shire made by AbbVie, Inc. in 2014. In this respect, the Irish Revenue issued an assessment received by Shire on November 28, 2018 for €398 million on the basis that the break fee was a taxable capital gain. Based on continued advice that no tax liability should arise from the break fee, Shire has appealed this assessment and the appeals process is continuing. However, the appeal may not be successful and at this time the outcome is unknown. In addition, in connection with its acquisition of Baxalta Incorporated (“Baxalta”) in 2016, Shire agreed to indemnify Baxter International Inc., its affiliates and each of their respective officers, directors and employees against certain tax-related losses if the merger of Baxalta and Shire causes the prior spin-off of Baxalta by Baxter and related transactions to fail to qualify as tax-free. Although Shire received an opinion of tax counsel that the merger will not cause such prior transactions to fail to qualify as tax-free, such opinion is not binding on the tax authorities and the potential tax indemnification obligations are not limited in amount.

If we are unable to effectively manage these additional risks, our business, results of operations or financial conditions could be materially and adversely affected.

We have substantial debt, including a significant amount incurred in connection with the Shire Acquisition, which may limit our ability to execute our business strategy, refinance existing debt or incur new debt, and if we are unable to meet our goals for deleveraging, we could be at a greater risk of a downgrade of our credit ratings.

Our consolidated bonds and loans were ¥5,751.0 billion as of March 31, 2019, the majority of which was incurred in connection with the Shire Acquisition or represents indebtedness of Shire now included on our consolidated balance sheet. This significant amount of aggregate debt and the substantial amount of cash required for payments of interest and principal could adversely affect our liquidity. In particular, if we are unable to realize the anticipated benefits of the Shire Acquisition, we may not be able to service our indebtedness. We are also required to comply with certain covenants within various financing arrangements and violations of such covenants may require the acceleration and immediate repayment of the indebtedness, which may in turn have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In particular, under the Loan Agreement with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (“JBIC”) that we entered into in December 2018 (the "JBIC Loan") for an aggregate principal amount of $3.7 billion, our profit before tax must not be negative for two consecutive years. As discussed above, we expect to continue to record significant expenses related to the Shire Acquisition and we expect certain of these costs to continue in the fiscal years ending March 31, 2020 and 2021. We may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of the Shire Acquisition, and expect to continue to record significant expenses related to it. If we record a net loss before tax in both of the fiscal years ending March 31, 2020 and 2021, and are unable to negotiate a waiver or otherwise prevent the acceleration of amounts due under the JBIC Loan, the amounts due thereunder and under our other financing arrangements containing cross-default provisions may become immediately due and payable, thus requiring us to refinance such debt which may result in increased interest costs. Furthermore, we may desire to or be required from time to time to incur additional borrowings, including in relation to the repayment or refinancing any of the Term Loan Credit Agreement that we entered into on June 8, 2018 (the “Term Loan Credit Agreement”) for an aggregate principal amount of $7.5 billion, the JBIC Loan, or any other indebtedness incurred in connection with the Shire Acquisition, such as the U.S. dollar and Euro-denominated bonds issued in November 2018 or the subordinated hybrid bonds issued in June 2019, or Shire’s previously existing indebtedness. Our ability to arrange a re-financing will depend on our financial position and performance, prevailing market conditions and other factors beyond our control. Moreover, if we decide to refinance indebtedness as it comes due, our overall leverage may not necessarily decrease.

We aim to decrease our leverage, with a target ratio of net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ⁽¹⁾ of 2x or less within three to five years following the January 2019 completion of the Shire Acquisition and we have begun the process of disposal of certain non-core assets to generate cash in order to increase the pace of deleveraging. However, we may not be able to meet these goals if we are unable to sufficiently decrease our overall indebtedness, or if we are unable to achieve sufficient increases in earnings to offset our increased levels of debt. We may also not be successful in selecting non-core assets for disposal, and disposals may affect our business, financial condition or results of operations adversely, leading to larger-than-expected decreases in earnings. We may also not be able to dispose of such assets successfully in a manner that allows us to meet our goals or at all.

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⁽¹⁾ We define EBITDA as net profit before income tax expenses, depreciation and amortization and net interest expense. We define Adjusted EBITDA as EBITDA further adjusted to exclude impairment losses, other operating expenses and income (excluding depreciation and amortization), finance expenses and income (excluding net interest expense), our share of loss from investments accounted for under the equity method and other items that management believes are unrelated to our core operations such as purchase accounting effects and transaction related costs.

If we are unable to decrease our leverage, we may be unable to improve our credit ratings or be subject to ratings downgrades or other adverse actions by third-party ratings agencies. In May 2018, Moody’s (Japan) K.K. lowered our credit rating to A2 from A1, reflecting its expectations for our overall levels of leverage in the future, even in the absence of the Shire Acquisition, and in December 2018 Moody’s (Japan) K.K. further lowered our credit rating to Baa2, reflecting the increase in our ratio of net debt to Adjusted EBITDA after giving effect to the Shire Acquisition. In February 2019, S&P Global Ratings downgraded our ratings to BBB+, also in light of our aggregate debt and earnings profile following the Shire Acquisition. If we are unable to improve our credit ratings or if our credit ratings are further downgraded, it may negatively influence the terms for the refinancing of our existing debt or new borrowings on terms that we would consider to be commercially reasonable.

Risks Relating to Our Business

Research and development of pharmaceutical products are expensive and subject to significant uncertainties, and we may be unsuccessful in bringing commercially successful products to market or recouping development costs.

Our ability to continue to grow our business depends significantly on the success of our research and development activities in identifying, developing and successfully commercializing new products in a timely and cost-effective manner. To accomplish this, we commit substantial efforts, funds and other resources to research and development, both in-house and through collaborations with third parties. However, these research and development programs are expensive and involve intensive preclinical evaluation and clinical trials in connection with a highly complex and lengthy regulatory approval process. See “—If we fail to comply with government regulations over product development, regulatory approvals and reimbursement requirements, our business could be adversely affected.” The research and development process for a new pharmaceutical product also requires us to attract and retain sufficient numbers of highly-skilled employees and can take up to 10 years to 15 years or longer from discovery to commercial launch. Moreover, even if we successfully develop and bring to market new products, there is only a limited available patent life in which to recoup these development costs.

During each stage of the approval process and post-approval life cycle of our products, there is a substantial risk that we will encounter serious obstacles, including the following:

In addition, to the extent that new regulations raise the costs of obtaining and maintaining product authorizations or limit the economic value of a new product to its originator, our profitability and growth prospects could be diminished. Development of new and innovative products can also require the use of emerging platforms and technologies for which regulations either do not yet exist or are under development or modification. This may lead to greater uncertainty and risk in establishing the necessary data for approvals to conduct clinical trials and/or receiving marketing approvals.

As a result of the foregoing or other factors, we may decide to abandon the development of potential pipeline products in which we have invested significant resources, even where the product is in the late stages of development. Moreover, there can also be no assurance that we will be successful in bringing new products to market, marketing them, achieving sufficient acceptance thereof and recouping our investments in their development. For example, our pipeline compounds may not receive regulatory approval, become commercially successful or achieve satisfactory rates of reimbursement. Additionally, products approved for use and successfully marketed in one market may be unable to obtain regulatory approval, become commercially successful or achieve satisfactory rates of reimbursement in other markets. As a result, we may be unable to earn returns on investments that we originally anticipated or at all, or may be forced to revise our research and development strategy, and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

If we fail to comply with government regulations over product development, regulatory approvals and reimbursement requirements, our business could be adversely affected.

Obtaining marketing approval for pharmaceutical products is a lengthy, complex and highly regulated process that requires intensive preclinical and clinical data, and the approval process can vary significantly depending on the regulatory authority. Relevant health authorities may, at the time of the filing of the application for a marketing authorization, or later during their review, impose requirements that can evolve over time, including requiring additional clinical trials, and such authorities may delay or refuse to grant approval. Even where we have obtained marketing approval for a product in one or more major markets, we may need to invest significant time and resources in applying for approval in other markets, and there is no assurance that we will be able to obtain such approval. In recent years, health authorities have become increasingly focused on product safety and on the risk/benefit profile of pharmaceutical products, which could lead to more burdensome and costly approval processes and negatively affect our ability to obtain regulatory approval for products under development. For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”), the European Medicines Agency (the “EMA”), and the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (the “PMDA”) in Japan have been implementing strict requirements for approval, particularly in terms of the volume of data needed to demonstrate a product’s efficacy and safety.

Even after regulatory approval is obtained, marketed products are subject to various post-approval requirements, including continual review, risk evaluations, comparative effectiveness studies and, in some cases, requirements to conduct post-approval clinical trials to gather additional safety and other data. Regulatory authorities in many countries have worked to enhance post-approval monitoring in recent years, which has increased post-approval regulatory burdens. Post-regulatory approval reviews and data analyses can lead to the issuance of recommendations by government agencies, health professional and patients or other specialized organizations regarding the use of products; for example, a recommendation to limit the patient population of a drug’s indication, the imposition of marketing restrictions, including changes in product labeling, or the suspension or withdrawal of the product. Any such action can result in reductions in sales volume and/or new or increased concerns about the adverse reactions or efficacy of a product. These substantial regulatory requirements have, over time, increased the costs associated with maintaining regulatory approvals and achieving reimbursement for our products.

If the regulatory approval process or post-approval, reimbursement, monitoring or other requirements become significantly more burdensome in any of our major markets, we could become subject to increased costs and may be unable to obtain or maintain approval to market our products. Any such adverse changes could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations or financial condition.

If we fail to comply with laws and regulations governing the sales and marketing of our products, our business could be adversely affected.

We engage in various marketing, promotional and educational activities pertaining to, as well as the sale of, pharmaceutical products in a number of jurisdictions around the world. The promotion, marketing and sale of pharmaceutical products and medical devices is highly regulated and the sales and marketing practices of market participants such as us have been subject to increasing supervision by governmental authorities, and we believe that this trend will continue.

For example, in the United States, our sales and marketing activities are monitored by a number of regulatory authorities and law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (the “HHS”), the FDA, the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and the Drug Enforcement Administration (the “DEA”). These authorities and agencies and their equivalents in other countries have broad authority to investigate market participants for potential violations of laws relating to the sale, marketing and promotion of pharmaceutical products and medical devices, including the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Statute, the United Kingdom (the “UK”) Bribery Act of 2010 and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, among others, for alleged improper conduct, including corrupt payments to government officials, improper payments to medical professionals, off-label marketing of pharmaceutical products and medical devices, and the submission of false claims for reimbursement by the federal government. Healthcare companies may also be subject to enforcement actions or prosecution for such improper conduct. Any inquiries or investigations into the operations of, or enforcement or other regulatory action against, us by such authorities could result in significant defense costs, fines, penalties and injunctive or administrative remedies, distract management to the detriment of the business, result in the exclusion of certain products, or us as a whole, from government reimbursement programs or subject us to regulatory controls or government monitoring of its activities in the future. We are also subject to certain ongoing investigations by governmental agencies.

Government policies and other pressures to reduce medical costs could have an adverse effect on sales of our pharmaceutical products.

We are subject to governmental regulations mandating price controls in various countries in which we operate. The growth of overall healthcare costs as a percentage of gross domestic product in many countries means that governments and payers are under intense pressure to control spending even more tightly. See “Item 4. Information on the Company—B. Business Overview—Third Party Reimbursement and Pricing.”

In the United States, there has been increasing pricing pressure from managed care groups and institutional and governmental purchasers. In particular, as managed care groups have grown in size due to market consolidation, pharmaceutical companies have faced increased pressure in pricing and usage negotiations, and there is fierce competition among pharmaceutical companies to have their products included in the care providers’ formularies. Moreover, as a result of the changing legislative and regulatory environment in the United States we have experienced heightened pricing pressure on, and limitations on access to, our branded pharmaceutical products sold in the United States. There has been increasing attention paid to the level of pricing of pharmaceutical products by policymakers and stakeholders, which could lead to political pressure or legislative, regulatory or other efforts to introduce lower prices, and change how the pharmaceutical supply chain could operate. In addition, there are efforts by the federal government to reduce spending on the Medicare and Medicaid programs, including proposals by the Congressional Budget Office to require pharmaceutical companies to pay a minimum rebate on drug products covered under Medicare Part D for low-income beneficiaries and to cap federal Medicaid payments to the states. Congressional proposals to convert the Medicare fee-for-service program into a premium support program could also lead to significant reductions

in Medicare spending. The future of the U.S. healthcare legislation, as well as the potential impact of any new legislation, is uncertain, but we expect the health care industry in the United States will continue to be subject to increasing pricing and spending pressure, including from regulation and political and legal action.

In Japan, manufacturers of pharmaceutical products must have new products listed on the National Health Insurance (the “NHI”) price list published by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan (the “MHLW”) for the coverage under the public medical care insurance systems. The NHI price list provides rates for calculating the price of pharmaceutical products used in medical services provided under various public medical care insurance systems. Prices on the NHI price list have been subject to revision generally once every two years on the basis of the actual prices at which the pharmaceutical products are purchased by medical institutions in Japan after discounts and rebates are deducted from listed price. The average price of previously listed products generally decreases as a result of these price revisions. The Japanese government is currently undertaking healthcare reform initiatives with a goal of sustaining the universal coverage of the NHI program, and is addressing the efficient use of drugs, including promotion of generic use with a target of 80% penetration by volume by September 2020 with respect to products for which market exclusivity has expired. As part of these initiatives, the NHI price list is expected to be revised annually from April 1, 2021, which could lead to more frequent downward price revisions. In addition, cost-effectiveness analysis was officially introduced by the MHLW in April 2019. Products on the NHI price list nominated based on pre-defined criteria, such as the innovativeness and the financial impact, will be subject to review, and subject to price adjustments depending on outcome of this review.

In Europe, as in the United States, drug prices have been subject to downward pressure due to measures implemented in each country to control drug costs, and prices continue to come under pressure due to parallel imports, generic competition, increasing use of health technology assessment based upon cost-effectiveness and other factors. European pricing and reimbursement authorities have also intensified efforts to increase transparency of prices as well as exchange of information among the various European pricing authorities in order to raise pressure towards the industry. This pricing debate has impacted the overall political climate in Europe and has triggered a European policy initiative to review the pharmaceutical industry’s intellectual property incentives with a particular emphasis on orphan drugs. Any new legislation in this area would take at least two to three years to be adopted but could have significant impact on our business model. We are also facing similar pricing pressures in other regions, such as various emerging countries.

We expect these efforts to control costs to continue as healthcare payers around the globe, in particular government-controlled health authorities, publicly funded or subsidized health programs, insurance companies and managed care organizations (the “MCOs”), increasingly pursue initiatives to reduce the overall cost of healthcare, restrict access to higher-priced new medicines, increase the use of generics and impose overall price revisions. Such further implementation of these policies could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations .

The expiration or loss of patent or regulatory data protection over our products or patent infringement by generic manufacturers could lead to significant competition from generic versions of the relevant product and lead to declines in market share and price levels of our products.

Our pharmaceutical products are generally protected for a defined period by various patents (including those covering drug substance, drug product, approved indications, methods of administration, methods of manufacturing, formulations and dosages) and/or regulatory exclusivity, which are intended to provide us with exclusive rights to market the products for the life of the patent or duration of the regulatory data protection period. The loss of market exclusivity for pharmaceutical products opens such products to competition from generic substitutes that are typically priced significantly lower than the original products, which typically adversely affects the market share and prices of the original products.

Generic substitutes have high market shares in a number of key markets, including the United States, Europe and many emerging countries, and the adverse effects of the launch of generic products are particularly significant in such markets. The introduction of generic versions of a pharmaceutical product typically leads to a swift and substantial decline in the sales of the original product. Our active life cycle management efforts cannot fully mitigate the impact of competition from generics. In the United States and the European Union (“EU”), for example, political pressure to reduce spending on prescription drugs has led to legislation and other measures that encourage the use of generic products. In Japan, the government is implementing various measures to control drug costs, including by encouraging medical practitioners to use and prescribe generic drugs, and in June 2017 announced its intention to raise generic drug penetration with respect to products for which market exclusivity has expired to 80% by volume by September 2020. Legislation has also been passed in the United States and Europe encouraging the use of biosimilar products. Similar to generics, biosimilars aim to provide less expensive versions of innovative biologic products. New legislation has provided abbreviated pathways for the approval and marketing of biosimilar products, which may affect the profitability and commercial viability of our biologic products.

Certain of our products have begun to, or are expected over the next several years to, face declining sales due to the loss of market exclusivity. For example, following the expiration of patent protection over bortezomib, the active ingredient in VELCADE , one of our largest selling products in the United States, a competing bortezomib-containing product has been introduced. This has led to a decrease in sales of VELCADE , and further entry of competing products could result in substantial additional declines. Such decreases may accelerate following the scheduled expiration of patent protection over the formulation of VELCADE in 2022, or earlier if a competitor is able to develop a way to formulate VELCADE in a manner that does not infringe the relevant patent or succeed in getting the formulation patent invalidated. Patent protections over VYVANSE , which we acquired as part of the Shire Acquisition and which was Shire’s largest selling product, are scheduled to expire in 2023, which we anticipate will lead to declines in sales. In addition, as patent protection has expired for PANTOPRAZOLE in many major markets including the United States and the EU, sales of PANTOPRAZOLE have continued to decline in those markets.

We may also be subject to competition from generic drug manufacturers prior to the expiration of patents if a manufacturer successfully challenges the validity of our patents, or if the manufacturer believes that the benefits of launching the generic drug “at risk” (prior to the expiration of our patent) outweigh the costs of defending infringement litigation. If such a competitor launches a generic product “at risk” before the initiation or

completion of court proceedings, a court may decline to grant us a preliminary injunction to halt further “at risk” sales and remove the infringing product from the market. While we may be entitled to obtain damages subsequently, the amount we may ultimately be awarded and able to collect may be insufficient to compensate for the loss of sales and other harm caused to us. Furthermore, if we lose patent protection as a result of an adverse court decision or a settlement, in certain jurisdictions, we may face the risk that government and private third-party payers and purchasers of pharmaceutical products may claim damages alleging they have over-reimbursed or overpaid for a drug.

If our patent and other intellectual property rights are infringed by generic drug manufacturers or other third parties, we may not be able to take full advantage of the potential or existing demand for our products. The protection that we are able to obtain for our prescription drugs varies from product to product and country to country and may not always be sufficient because of local variations in issued patents, or differences in national law or legal systems, including inconsistency in the enforcement or application of law and limitations on the availability of meaningful legal remedies. In particular, patent protection in emerging markets is often less certain than in developed markets. Certain countries may also engage in compulsory licensing of pharmaceutical intellectual property to other manufacturers as a result of local political pressure. Furthermore, the attention of our management and other personnel could be diverted from their normal business activities if we decide to litigate against such infringement. The realization of any such risks could adversely and materially affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are subject to the risk of intellectual property infringement claims directed at us by third parties.

We are subject to the risk of infringement claims directed at us by third parties, even if we do not knowingly infringe on any valid third-party intellectual property rights. Although we monitor our operations to prevent infringement on the intellectual property rights of third parties, if we are found to have infringed the intellectual property rights of others or if we agree to settle infringement claims, we may be required to recall the relevant products, terminate manufacturing and sales of such products, pay significant damages or pay significant royalties.

We evaluate any such infringement claims to assess the likelihood of unfavorable outcomes and to estimate, if possible, the amount of potential losses. Based on these assessments and estimates, and in keeping with applicable accounting and disclosure standards, we establish reserves and/or disclose the relevant litigation claims or decide not to establish reserves or disclose litigation claims. These assessments and estimates are based on the information available to our management at such time and involve a significant amount of management judgment. Actual outcomes or losses may differ materially from those envisioned by our current assessments and estimates. Although the parties to such patent and intellectual property disputes in the pharmaceutical industry have often settled through licensing or similar arrangements, the costs associated with these arrangements may be substantial and could include the payment of ongoing royalties. Furthermore, the necessary licenses may not be available on acceptable terms or at all. Therefore, if we are unable to successfully defend against infringement claims by third parties, our financial results could be materially and adversely affected.

The illegal distribution and sale by third parties of counterfeit versions of our products or products stolen from us could have an adverse effect on our reputation and business.

Third parties may illegally distribute and sell counterfeit versions of our products, which do not meet the rigorous manufacturing and testing standards to which our products are subject. A patient who receives a counterfeit drug may be at risk for a number of dangerous health consequences. Reports of adverse reactions to counterfeit drugs or increased levels of counterfeiting could materially affect patient confidence in our products, which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation and financial results. In addition, thefts at warehouses, at plants, or in transit of inventory that is not properly stored or that is sold through unauthorized channels could materially and adversely affect patient safety, our reputation and our results of operations.

We may not be able to adequately expand our product portfolio through third-party alliance arrangements.

We expect that we will continue to rely on third parties for key aspects of our business, including the discovery and development of new products, in-licensing products, and the marketing and distribution of approved products. A major part of our research and development strategy is to initiate alliances with third parties in the biotechnology industry, academia and the public sector, and we believe that the overall strength of our research and development program and product pipeline depends on our ability to identify and initiate partnerships, in-licensing arrangements and other collaborations with third parties. However, there can be no assurance that any of our third-party alliances will lead to the successful development and marketing of new products. Moreover, reliance on third-party alliances subjects us to a number of risks, including:

In addition, a licensor may attempt to terminate its license agreement with us or elect not to renew it to pursue other marketing opportunities. Our licensors could also merge with or be acquired by another company or experience financial or other setbacks unrelated to our licensing arrangements. Any of these events may force us to abandon a development project and adversely affect our ability to adequately expand or maintain our product portfolio.

Our operating results and financial condition may fluctuate due to a number of factors and may not be comparable across periods.

Our operating results and financial condition may fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year for a number of reasons, including acquisitions, divestitures, major product launches, patent expiration or expiration of regulatory data protection for key products and other reasons. In particular, as part of our efforts to refocus our business portfolio, we have recently entered into a number of significant transactions that are expected to affect our results of operations, including:

We intend to continue to pursue both acquisitions of new businesses and dispositions of existing businesses in the future. As a result, period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations may not always be directly comparable, and these comparisons should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. Our operating results and financial condition are also subject to fluctuations from the risks described throughout this section.

We have significant global operations, which expose us to additional risks.

Our global operations, which encompass approximately 80 countries and regions across the world, are subject to a number of risks, including the following:

Any one or more of these or other factors could increase our costs, reduce our revenues, or disrupt our operations, with possible material adverse effects on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Further expansion overseas has been one of our key strategies, and, in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, regions outside of Japan accounted for 72.8% of our consolidated revenue, with the United States in particular contributing 39.5% of consolidated revenue, and we anticipate that these proportions will further increase once Shire’s businesses have been included in our consolidated results of operations for a full fiscal year. We expect that markets outside Japan, particularly the United States and also Europe, Canada and emerging markets, will continue to be increasingly important to our business and results of operations, increasing the likelihood that any of these risks is realized.

We may not be able to realize the expected benefits of our investments in emerging markets.

We have been taking steps to grow our business in emerging markets, which we define to include Russia/Commonwealth of Independent States (“CIS”), Latin America, Asia (excluding Japan) and Other (including the Middle East, Oceania and Africa). Our revenue from emerging markets was ¥291.6 billion (or 13.9% of our total revenue) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, and we intend to pursue further growth in such emerging markets.

However, there is no guarantee that our efforts to expand sales in emerging markets will succeed. Some countries may be especially vulnerable to periods of global financial instability or may have very limited resources to spend on healthcare. Emerging markets present particular challenges in obtaining funding, achieving market access for our products and successfully ensuring that we receive appropriate levels of reimbursement. Emerging markets also tend to require substantial efforts in patient support and other programs. All of these factors may adversely affect the profitability of our businesses in these emerging markets.

In order to successfully implement our emerging markets strategy, we must also attract and retain qualified personnel, despite the possibility that some emerging markets may have a relatively limited number of persons with the required skills and training. We may also be required to increase our reliance on third-party agents within less-developed markets, which may put us at increased risk of liability. In addition, many emerging markets have currencies that fluctuate substantially, and if such currencies are devalued and we cannot offset the devaluations, our financial performance in such countries may be adversely affected. Further, many emerging markets have relatively weak intellectual property protection and inadequate protection against crime, including counterfeiting, corruption and fraud. Operations in certain emerging countries, where corruption may be more prevalent than in more developed countries and where internal compliance practices may not be well established, may also pose challenges from a legal and regulatory compliance perspective.

For reasons including but not limited to the above, sales within emerging markets carry significant risks, and the realization of such risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face risks relating to the expected exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

On June 23, 2016, the United Kingdom held a remain-or-leave referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership within the European Union, the result of which favored the exit of the United Kingdom from the EU (commonly known as “Brexit”). A process of negotiation will likely determine the future terms of the United Kingdom’s relationship with the EU, as well as whether the United Kingdom will be able to continue to benefit from the EU’s free trade and similar agreements. Additionally, Brexit has impacted the EMA, which is the primary regulator of the pharmaceutical industry in the EU and which has stated that it expects to lose about 25% of its 900 staff members due to the EMA’s relocation from London to Amsterdam as a result of Brexit. The EMA has developed a business continuity plan that allows EMA to temporarily scale back or temporarily suspend lower priority activities during the relocation and as it prepares for Brexit. For example, the EMA noted in its annual report for 2018 that, in order to be able to concentrate on Brexit and the EMA’s relocation to Amsterdam, it had to delay updating its guidelines on the development of new medicines to treat hemophilia A and B. Delays in EMA processes such as this caused by Brexit may adversely affect or delay our business, including our ability to develop and market new or existing products in the EU.

The timing of Brexit and potential impact of Brexit on our market share, sales, profitability and results of operations is unclear. Depending on the terms of Brexit and any continuing impact on the EMA, economic conditions in the United Kingdom, the European Union and global markets may be adversely affected by reduced growth and volatility. The uncertainty before, during and after the period of negotiation is also expected to have a negative economic impact and increase volatility in the markets, particularly in the Eurozone. Such volatility and negative economic impact could, in turn, adversely affect our revenues, financial condition or results of operations.

Our results of operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations.

We manufacture and sell products to customers in numerous countries, and we have entered and will enter into acquisition, licensing, borrowings or other financial transactions that give rise to translation and transaction risks related to foreign currency exposure. Fluctuations in currency exchange rates in the markets where we are active could negatively affect our results of operations, financial position and cash flows. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, 72.8% of our sales were in markets outside Japan, and we expect this proportion to be even higher for subsequent fiscal periods, due to anticipated increases in overseas sales of growth driver products and the contribution of Shire’s results to our results of operations, particularly in the U.S. market. Our consolidated financial statements are presented in Japanese yen, and by translating the foreign currency financial statements of our foreign subsidiaries into yen, the amounts of our revenue, operating profit, assets and equity, on a consolidated basis, are affected by prevailing rates of exchange.

We utilize certain hedging measures with respect to some of our foreign currency transactions. However, such hedging measures do not cover all of our exposures and, even to the extent they do, they may only delay, or may otherwise be unable to completely eliminate, the impact of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

Our reliance on third parties for the performance of certain key business functions, particularly product manufacture and commercialization, heightens the risks faced by our business.

We rely on suppliers, vendors and partners, including alliances with other pharmaceutical companies, for certain key aspects of our business, including manufacture and commercialization of products, support for information technology systems and certain human resource functions. We do not control these partners, but we depend on them in ways that may be significant to us. If these parties fail to meet our expectations or fulfill their obligations to us, we may fail to receive the expected benefits. In addition, if any of these third parties fails to comply with applicable laws and regulations in the course of its performance of services for us, there is a risk that we may be held responsible for such violations as well. This risk is particularly serious in emerging markets, where corruption is often prevalent and where many of the third parties on which we rely do not have internal compliance resources comparable to our own. Any such failures by third parties, in emerging markets or elsewhere, could adversely affect our business, reputation, financial condition or results of operations.

Our dependence on third parties for the inputs for our products subjects us to various risks, and changes in the costs of materials may adversely affect our profitability.

Although we develop and manufacture the active ingredients used in some of our products at our own facilities, we are dependent on third-party suppliers for a substantial portion of the raw materials and compounds used in the products we produce. The price and availability of the raw materials for our products, including chemical compounds and biologics, are subject to the effects of weather, natural disasters, market forces, the economic environment, fuel costs and foreign exchange rates. If our cost for such materials increases, we may not be able to make corresponding increases in the prices of our products due to market conditions or our relationships with our customers, and as a result, our profitability could be materially and adversely affected.

In particular, we rely on third-party suppliers of key manufacturing inputs of certain drug products, including, but not limited to, ADCETRIS, ADVATE , ADYNOVATE , ALUNBRIG, CINRYZE , CUVITRU , ENTYVIO, FEIBA , FIRAZYR , GATTEX / REVESTIVE , HYQVIA , LEUPRON, MEPACT, NINLARO, TAKHZYRO, and VELCADE . Furthermore, certain active ingredients for these products are sourced from a single supplier. We also rely in part on third-party sources to provide the donated plasma necessary for our plasma-derived therapies. In addition, although we dual-source certain key products and/or active ingredients, we currently rely on a single source for production of the final drug product for certain of our products, including, but not limited to, ADDERALL XR , ADYNOVATE , ALOFISEL, ALUNBRIG, CINRYZE , CUVITRU , FIRAZYR , HYQVIA , LIALDA, MEPACT, NINLARO, PENTASA and TAKHZYRO . Sources of some materials may be limited to a single supplier, and if such supplier faces any difficulty in supplying the materials, we may not be able to find an alternative supplier in a timely manner or at all. If materials become unavailable or if quality problems related to the materials arise, we may be forced to halt production and sales of products that use them. In the event that any of our third-party suppliers is delayed in its delivery of such raw materials or compounds, is unable to deliver the full quantity ordered by us at the appropriate level of quality, or is unable to deliver any raw materials or compounds at all, our ability to sell our products in the quantities demanded by the market may be impaired, which could damage our reputation and relationships with customers and patients. In such a case, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

The manufacture of our products is technically complex and highly regulated, and supply interruptions, product recalls or other production problems caused by unforeseen events may reduce sales, adversely affect our operating results and financial condition and delay the launch of new products.

The manufacture of our products is technically complex and highly regulated, and as a result we may experience difficulties or delays including but not limited to the following:

The development and manufacture of biologics including products added to our portfolio following the completion of the Shire Acquisition and stem cell therapies resulting from our acquisition of Tigenix NV in July 2018, present heightened or additional risks. The manufacture of biologics, including stem cell products, is highly complex and is characterized by inherent risks and challenges, such as raw material inconsistencies, logistical

and sourcing challenges, significant quality control and assurance requirements, manufacturing complexity (including heightened regulatory requirements) and significant manual processing. Unlike products that rely on chemicals for efficacy, such as most pharmaceuticals, biologics are difficult to characterize due to the inherent variability of biological input materials. As a result, assays of the finished product may not be sufficient to ensure that the product will perform in the intended manner. Problems with the manufacturing process, even minor deviations from the normal process, could result in product defects or manufacturing failures that result in, among other things, lot failures, product recalls, product liability claims or insufficient inventory, which could be costly to us or result in reputational damage.

Any of the above may reduce sales, delay the launch of new products, and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.   

We are involved in litigation relating to our operations on an ongoing basis, and such litigation could result in financial losses or harm our business.

We are involved in various litigation relating to our operations on an ongoing basis, including claims related to product liability and intellectual property as well as to antitrust, sales and marketing and other regulatory regimes. Given the inherent unpredictability of litigation, it is possible that an adverse outcome in one or more pending or future litigation matters could have a material adverse effect on our operating results or cash flows. For a description of certain ongoing litigation, see Note 32 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.

Economic and financial conditions may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Growth of the global pharmaceutical market has become increasingly tied to global economic growth. In this context, a substantial and lasting slowdown of the global economy or major national economies could negatively affect growth in the global pharmaceutical market and, as a result, adversely affect our business. In particular, weak economic conditions can have a particularly adverse impact on pharmaceutical demand in markets having significant co-pays or lacking a developed third-party payer system, as individual patients may delay or decrease out-of-pocket healthcare expenditures. Negative economic developments could also reduce the sources of funding for national social security systems, leading to heightened pressure on drug prices, increased substitution of generic drugs, and the exclusion of certain products from formularies.

Following the global financial crisis in 2008, economic growth continues to be stagnant in major developed countries while the pace of growth in many emerging economies has declined. The Brexit referendum in the U.K, political volatility in the United States following recent mid-term elections, continued instability in the Middle East and North Korea and global developments in trade and security policy have increased political and economic uncertainty. To the extent that economic or financial conditions weaken in any of our major operating markets, demand for our products or product pricing could be negatively affected. In addition, to the extent that economic and financial conditions negatively affect the global business environment, we could experience a disruption or delay in the performance of third parties on which we rely for parts of our business, including collaboration partners and suppliers. Such disruptions or delays could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may have difficulty maintaining the competitiveness of our products.

The pharmaceutical industry is highly competitive, and in order to maintain the competitiveness of our product portfolio, we are required to maintain ongoing, extensive research for technological innovations, including new compounds, to develop and commercialize existing pipeline products, to expand our product portfolio through acquisitions and in-licensing, and to market our products effectively, including by communicating the efficacy, safety and value of our products to healthcare professionals. However, healthcare professionals and consumers may choose competitors’ products over ours nonetheless, if they perceive these products to be safer, more reliable, more effective, easier to administer or less expensive. The success of any product depends on our ability to effectively communicate with and educate the healthcare professionals and patients and convince them of the advantage of our products over those of our competitors. We often carry out costly clinical trials even after our products have been launched to produce data to be utilized for these purposes, but such trials do not always produce the desired outcomes. Furthermore, many of our competitors have greater financial and other resources to conduct such trials in more detail and with larger patient populations, which may ultimately enable them to promote their products more effectively than we do. Moreover, if relevant regulators increase their approvals of new therapies developed by competitors for the conditions treated by our products, such as in order to increase the number of treatment options available for rare or orphan diseases, our business and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

For example, in recent years, competitors have introduced additional plasma-based hemophilia products, or such products have been approved for additional uses, which may affect (and in certain cases has affected) sales of our plasma-based hemophilia products, such as FEIBA . Moreover, certain competitors are developing other hemophilia therapies, including gene-based therapies, which, if successfully introduced, could also harm sales of our plasma-based therapies. Increased competition from new products or therapies could similarly affect our other products.

In Japan, reduced approval times for drugs already marketed outside Japan have led to increased competition through the introduction of such drugs into the Japanese market by foreign competitors. In addition, new competing products or the development of superior medical technologies and other treatment options could make our products or technologies lose their competitiveness or become obsolete. As discussed above, our products are also subject to competition from inexpensive generic versions of our products, as well as generic versions of our competitors’ products, upon the expiration or loss of related patent protection and regulatory data protection, which may result in loss of market share. If we are unable to maintain the competitiveness of our products, our business, financial position and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our products may have unanticipated adverse effects or possible adverse effects, which may restrict use of the product or give rise to product liability claims.

As a pharmaceutical company, we are subject to significant risks related to product liability. Unanticipated adverse reactions or unfavorable publicity from complaints concerning any of our products, or those of our competitors, could have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain or maintain regulatory approvals or successfully market our products, and may even result in recalls, withdrawal of regulatory approval or adverse labeling of the product.

While our products are subject to comprehensive clinical trials and rigorous statistical analysis during the development process prior to approval, there are inherent limitations with regard to the design of such trials, including the limited number of patients enrolled in such trials, the limited time used to measure the efficacy of the product and the limited ability to perform long-term monitoring. In the event that such unanticipated adverse reactions are discovered, we may be required to add descriptions of the adverse reactions as “precautions” to the packaging of our products, recall and terminate sales of products or conduct costly post-launch clinical trials. Furthermore, concerns relating to potential adverse reactions could arise among consumers or medical professionals, and such concerns, whether justified or not, could have an adverse effect on sales of our products and our reputation. We could also be subject to product liability litigation by patients who have suffered or claim to have suffered such adverse reactions resulting in harm to their health.

Although we maintain product liability insurance at coverage levels that we believe are appropriate, we could be subject to product liability that significantly exceeds such levels. Product liability coverage is also increasingly difficult and costly to obtain, and may not be available in the future on acceptable terms. Therefore, in the future, it is possible that we may need to rely increasingly on self-insurance for the management of product liability risk. In cases where we self-insure, the legal costs that we would bear for handling such claims and potential indemnifications to be paid to claimants could materially and adversely affect our financial condition. In addition, the negative publicity from product liability claims, whether or not justified, may damage our reputation and may negatively impact the number of prescriptions of the product in question or our other products. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

We may not be able to attract and retain key management and other personnel.

In order to produce, develop, support and market our products, we depend on the expertise and leadership of our senior management team and other key members of our organization. The loss of key members of our organization, including senior members of our scientific and management teams, high-quality researchers and development specialists, could delay or prevent the achievement of major business objectives. The market for such talents has become increasingly competitive, including in specific geographic regions and in specialized fields such as clinical development and biosciences, and we are required to invest heavily in the recruitment, training and retention of qualified individuals, including salary and other compensation to reward performance and incentivize employees. Despite our efforts to retain them, key employees could terminate their employment with us for any reason or for no reason, and there is no assurance that we will be able to attract or retain key employees and successfully manage them. Our inability to attract, integrate and retain highly skilled personnel, particularly those in leadership positions, may weaken our succession plans and may materially adversely affect our ability to implement our strategy and meet our strategic objectives, which could ultimately adversely affect our business and results of operations.

We are increasingly dependent on information technology systems and our systems and infrastructure face the risk of theft, exposure, tampering or other intrusions.

A variety of important processes relating to the research and development, production and sale of our products depend heavily on our information systems, including cloud-based computing, or those of third party providers to whom we outsource certain business functions, including the storage and transfer of critical, confidential, sensitive or personal information regarding our patients, clinical trial subjects, vendors, customers, employees and others. The size and complexity of these computer systems make them potentially vulnerable to service interruptions, malicious intrusions and random attacks. Cyber-attacks are increasing in frequency, sophistication and intensity. Such attacks are made by groups and individuals with a wide range of motives (including, but not limited to, industrial espionage) and expertise, including organized criminal groups, “hacktivists,” nation-states and others. Cyber-attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, denial of service attacks, worms, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten data confidentiality, integrity and availability. The development and maintenance of systems to safeguard against such attacks is costly and requires ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures become increasingly more sophisticated. Moreover, the costs related to these security measures are expected to continue to increase. Despite our efforts, the possibility of a future data compromise cannot be eliminated entirely, and risks associated with intrusion, exposure, tampering, and theft remain. For “zero-day threats,” or new vectors of attack which are currently unknown, the risk that our defenses will be inadequate are particularly pronounced.

If our data systems are compromised, our business operations may be impaired, we may lose profitable opportunities, or the value of those opportunities may be diminished, and we may lose revenue because of unlicensed use of our intellectual property or confidential or proprietary information. Cyber-attacks could significantly impact the availability of data systems that are essential to conducting routine business operations across the company, including product manufacturing or clinical development, and the recovery efforts could be both time consuming and costly. If personal information of our customers or employees is misappropriated, our reputation with our customers and employees may be injured resulting in loss of business and/or morale, and we may incur costs to remediate possible injury to our customers and employees or be required to pay fines or take other action with respect to judicial or regulatory actions arising out of such incidents. Data privacy or security breaches by employees and others with permitted access to our systems, including in some cases third-party service providers to which we may outsource certain business functions, may also pose a risk that sensitive data, including intellectual property or personal information, will be exposed to unauthorized persons or to the public.

Changes in data privacy and protection laws and regulations, particularly in Europe, or any failure to comply with such laws and regulations, could adversely affect our business and financial results.

We are subject to laws and regulations globally regarding privacy, data protection, and data security, including those related to the collection, storage, handling, use, disclosure, transfer, and security of personal data. Significant uncertainty exists as privacy and data protection laws may be interpreted and applied differently from country to country and may create inconsistent or conflicting requirements. For example, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”), which imposes additional obligations on companies regarding the handling of personal data and provides certain individual privacy rights to persons whose data is processed, became effective on May 25, 2018. Moreover, significant regulatory fines may be imposed on us for violation of these requirements, particularly in the case of the GDPR, which are set at a maximum of the higher of €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover for the most serious breaches, or the higher of €10 million or 2% of annual global turnover for certain others. There is also significant uncertainty as to how the various EU member states or individual regulators will implement and interpret the GDPR, and we are still in the process of identifying and unifying differences between our and Shire’s historical GPDR compliance practices. Furthermore, legislators and regulators in the United States are proposing new and more robust cybersecurity rules in light of the recent broad-based cyberattacks at a number of companies. Compliance with existing, proposed and recently enacted laws (including implementation of the privacy and process enhancements called for under GDPR) and regulations can be costly; any failure to comply with these regulatory standards could subject us to legal and reputational risks. Misuse of or failure to secure personal information could also result in violation of data privacy laws and regulations, proceedings against us by governmental entities or others or damage to our reputation and credibility and could also have a negative impact on revenues and profits.

Social media platforms and new technologies present risks and challenges for our reputation and business.

Consumers, the media, pharmaceutical companies and other parties increasingly use social media and other new technologies to communicate about pharmaceutical products and the diseases they are intended to treat. For pharmaceutical companies, the use of these technologies requires specific attention, monitoring programs and moderation of comments. For example, negative or inaccurate posts or comments about us or our products on any social media networking platforms could damage our reputation and business. Social media could also be used to bring negative attention to us or to the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, which could in turn cause reputational harm to us and negatively impact our business. The nature of evidence-based health care, however, may prevent us from rapidly and adequately defending our interests against such comments. In addition, our employees and partners may use social media and mobile technologies inappropriately, which may expose us to liability, or which could lead to breaches of data security, loss of trade secrets or other intellectual property or public disclosure of sensitive information, including information about our employees, clinical trial subjects or customers.

Sales to wholesalers are concentrated, which exposes us to credit risks and pricing pressures.

A significant portion of our global sales are made to a relatively small number of wholesale distributors, retail chains and other purchasing groups. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, our largest wholesale distributor accounted for 10.8% of our total revenue. If one of our significant wholesale distributors encounters financial or other difficulties, such distributor may decrease the amount of business that it does with us, and we may be unable to collect the amounts that the distributor owes us on a timely basis or at all. Furthermore, the concentration of wholesale distributors has been increasing through mergers and acquisitions. In addition to increased credit risks, this has resulted in such distributors gaining additional purchasing leverage, which may increase pricing pressure on our products. Such credit concentration risks and pricing pressure could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We face risks from the pursuit of acquisitions, and the anticipated benefits and synergies resulting from acquisitions may not be realized.

We regularly pursue acquisitions for a number of reasons, including strengthening our pipeline, complementing existing lines of business, adding research and development capabilities or pursuing other synergies. The pursuit of these acquisitions requires the commitment of significant management and capital resources in various stages, from the exploration of potential acquisition targets to the negotiation and execution of an acquisition to the integration of an acquired business into our own. The required commitment of time and resources may divert the attention of management or capital or other resources away from our day-to-day business. Moreover, we may not be able to recoup the investment of capital or other resources through the successful integration of acquired businesses, including the realization of any expected cost or other synergies. Specifically, we may encounter the following difficulties:

Integrating the operations of multiple new businesses with that of our own is a complex process that requires significant management attention and resources. The integration process may disrupt our existing and other newly acquired businesses and, if implemented ineffectively, could have an adverse impact not only on our ability to realize the benefits of a given acquisition but also on the results of our existing operations. Integration-related risks may be heightened in cases where acquired businesses’ operations, employees or customers are located outside our major markets and we incur

higher costs than anticipated due to regulatory changes, environmental factors or foreign exchange fluctuations. We continue to pursue strategic business acquisitions globally as a key part of our continuous growth strategy. If we are not able to achieve the anticipated benefits of any future acquisitions in full or in a timely manner, we could be required to recognize impairment losses, we may not be able to recoup our investment, and our business, financial position and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Particularly, we may be unable to achieve the expected revenues pursuant to licensing, co-promotion or co-development agreements or collaborations. We may also assume unexpected contingent or other liabilities, or be required to mark up the fair value of liabilities (or mark down the fair value of assets) acquired upon the close of an acquisition.

We may incur substantial costs due to our environmental compliance efforts or claims relating to our use, manufacture, handling, storage or disposal of hazardous materials.

Our research and development and manufacturing processes use hazardous materials, including chemicals and radioactive and biological materials, and produce hazardous waste. National and local laws and regulations in many of the jurisdictions in which we operate impose substantial potential liability for the improper use, manufacture, handling, storage and disposal of hazardous materials as well as for land contamination, and, in some cases, this liability may continue over long periods of time. Despite our compliance efforts, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of accidental contamination and any resultant injury from these materials. For example, real properties that we owned or used in the past or that we own or use now or in the future may contain detected or undetected contamination resulting from our manufacturing operations at those sites or the activities of prior owners or occupants. We may suffer from expenses, claims or liability which may fall outside of or exceed our insurance coverage. Furthermore, changes to current environmental laws and regulations may impose further compliance requirements on us that may impair our research, development and production efforts as well as our other business activities.

We may suffer large losses in the event of a natural or other disaster, such as an earthquake, terrorist attack or other catastrophic event, in any of the markets in which we operate.

Japan and other regions in the world in which we operate are subject to the risk of earthquakes and other natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions, tidal waves, typhoons, floods and hurricanes. For example, the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred in March 2011 caused unprecedented property and other damage, although we did not incur any significant damage to our facilities. In addition, other events outside our control, such as war, civil or political unrest, deliberate acts of sabotage, or industrial accidents such as fire and explosion, whether due to human or equipment error, could damage, cause operational interruptions, or otherwise adversely affect certain of our manufacturing or other facilities as well as potentially cause injury or death to our personnel. In the event of a major natural disaster or other uncontrollable event or accident, our facilities, particularly our production plants, may experience catastrophic loss, operations at such facilities may be halted, shipments of products may be suspended or delayed and large losses and expenses to repair or replace facilities may be incurred. Such negative consequences could cause product shortages, significant losses of sales or require significant unexpected expenditures, and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our business may also be adversely affected if our suppliers or business partners were to experience a catastrophic loss due to natural disasters, accidents or other uncontrollable events.

Although we purchase comprehensive global insurance to cover property damage and consequent business interruption for certain potential losses at sites owned by us and at certain critical supplier sites, we do not maintain earthquake insurance in Japan, and our insurance policies may not be adequate to cover all possible losses and expenses.

We may have to recognize additional charges on our statements of income due to impairment of goodwill, other intangible assets and equity method investments.

We carry significant amounts of goodwill and intangible assets on our balance sheet as a result of past acquisitions, including the Shire Acquisition. As of March 31, 2019, we had goodwill of ¥4,161.4 billion and intangible assets of ¥4,860.4 billion. Goodwill and intangible assets recorded in relation to acquisitions are recognized on our balance sheet on the acquisition date. Under IFRS, we are required to examine such assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects—A. Operating Results—Critical Accounting Policies—Impairment of Goodwill and Intangible Assets.”

We occasionally enter into business ventures with third-party entities where we have significant influence over the decisions on financial and operating policies, but do not have control or joint control (referred to as “investments in associates”). We also enter into joint arrangements whereby we and the other parties that have joint control of the arrangement have rights to the net assets of the arrangement (referred to as “joint venture”). We account for these investments using the equity method of accounting. As of March 31, 2019, the carrying amount of investments accounted for using the equity method was ¥114.7 billion. Under IFRS, at each reporting period, we are required to determine whether there is objective evidence that the investment in each associate or joint venture is impaired.

The recognition of such impairment charges may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, the accuracy and timeliness of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, which could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and may lead to a decline in the trading price of our ADSs.

Our common stock is currently listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and other local Japanese stock exchanges, and we have established internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the requirements applicable to companies listed only in Japan. In addition, our ADSs are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), making us subject to, among other things, the requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the

“Sarbanes-Oxley Act”). The standards for internal control over financial reporting under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are significantly more extensive than those applicable to companies listed only in Japan. For example, we will be required, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Section 404”), to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment will need to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting, as well as a statement that our independent registered public accounting firm has issued an opinion on our internal control over financial reporting. Pursuant to the instructions to Form 20-F, we expect to include this report in our next annual report filed with the SEC, which we currently expect will be filed by no later than July 31, 2020. We are still in the costly and challenging process of compiling the system and processing documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404.

Neither our management nor independent registered public accounting firm has ever performed a comprehensive evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act because no such evaluation has been required, and we cannot be certain that material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting will not develop or be identified. Any failure to achieve and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or to implement required, new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause material weaknesses or other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. If we are unable to successfully remediate any material weaknesses or other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting may be adversely affected, and investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting, and the price of our ADSs may decline as a result. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on the NYSE.

We are subject to additional risk due to uncertainty relating to the calculation of LIBOR, EURIBOR and other reference rates and their potential discontinuance.

The JBIC Loan and the Term Loan Credit Agreement are subject to a floating interest rate calculated in reference to LIBOR, while the floating rate Euro-denominated senior notes we issued in connection with the Shire Acquisition are subject to floating rate interest calculated in reference to EURIBOR. LIBOR, EURIBOR and other interest rate, equity, commodity, foreign exchange rate and other types of indices which are deemed to be “benchmarks” are the subject of ongoing national, international and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform. Some of these reforms are already effective while others are still to be implemented. These reforms may cause such “benchmarks” to perform differently than they have performed in the past or to be discontinued entirely or may have other consequences that cannot be predicted, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations or require us to seek to amend the terms of the relevant indebtedness, which may require significant additional time, effort or money in the form of consent payments or otherwise, and may not be possible on cost-efficient terms or at all.

In particular, regulators and law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere are conducting criminal and civil investigations into whether the banks that contribute information to the British Banker Association (the “BBA”) in connection with the daily calculation of LIBOR may have been under-reporting or otherwise manipulating or attempting to manipulate LIBOR. A number of BBA members banks have entered into settlements with their regulators and law enforcement agencies, as well as the ICE Benchmark Administration (the current administrator of LIBOR), which may result in changes to the manner in which LIBOR is determined or the establishment of alternative reference rates. On July 27, 2017, the Chief Executive of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced that the FCA will no longer persuade or compel banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. Such announcement indicates that the continuation of LIBOR on the current basis cannot and will not be guaranteed after 2021. Notwithstanding the foregoing, it appears highly likely that LIBOR will be discontinued or modified by 2021. A number of alternatives to LIBOR have been proposed or are being developed, but it is not clear which, if any, will be adopted. Any of these alternative methods may result in interest payments that are higher than expected or that do not otherwise correlate over time with the payments that would have been made on such indebtedness for the interest periods if the applicable LIBOR rate was available in its current form. More generally, any of the foregoing changes, any other changes to LIBOR as a result of national, international and other regulatory guidance and proposals for reform or other initiatives or investigations, or any further uncertainty surrounding the implementation of such changes, could have a material adverse effect on affected indebtedness.

At this time, it is not possible to predict the effect that these developments, any discontinuance, modification or other reforms to LIBOR, EURIBOR or any other reference rate, or the establishment of alternative reference rates may have on LIBOR, EURIBOR, other benchmarks or floating rate indebtedness.

Risks Relating to the ADSs

A holder of ADSs has fewer rights than a holder of our common stock has, and a holder of ADSs has to act through the depositary to exercise those rights.

The rights of shareholders under Japanese law to take various actions, including voting their shares, receiving dividends and distributions, bringing derivative actions, examining a company’s accounting books and records and exercising appraisal rights, are available only to holders of record. Because the depositary, through its custodian agents, is the record holder of the shares underlying the ADSs, only the depositary can exercise those rights in connection with the deposited shares. Pursuant to the deposit agreement, the depositary will endeavor, to the extent practicable, to make efforts to vote or cause to be voted the shares underlying the ADSs as instructed by the holders and will pay to the holders the dividends and distributions collected from the Company. The depositary and its agents may not be able to send voting instructions to holders of ADSs or carry out their voting instructions in a timely manner. Furthermore, the depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote, for the manner in which any vote is cast or for the effect of any such vote. As a result, holders of ADSs may not be able to exercise their right to vote. Moreover, in the capacity as an ADS holder, such holder will not be able to bring a derivative action, examine the Company’s accounting books or records or exercise appraisal rights except through the depositary.

Rights of shareholders under Japanese law may be more limited than under the laws of other jurisdictions.

Our Articles of Incorporation, Regulations of the Board of Directors, Regulations of the Audit and Supervisory Committee and the Companies Act govern our corporate affairs. Legal principles relating to such matters as the validity of corporate procedures, directors’ and officers’ fiduciary duties, and shareholders’ rights may be different from those that would apply to a non-Japanese company. Shareholders’ rights under Japanese law may not be as extensive as shareholders’ rights under the laws of other jurisdictions. ADS holders may have more difficulty in asserting their rights as a shareholder than such holders would as shareholders of a corporation organized in another jurisdiction. In addition, Japanese courts may not be willing to enforce liabilities against the Company in actions brought in Japan that are based upon the securities laws of other jurisdictions.

Because of daily price range limitations under Japanese stock exchange rules, a holder of ADSs who has surrendered his or her ADSs in favor of shares of our common stock may not be able to sell his/her shares of our common stock at a particular price on any particular trading day, or at all.

Stock prices on Japanese stock exchanges are determined on a real-time basis by the equilibrium between bids and offers. These exchanges are order-driven markets without specialists or market makers to guide price formation. To prevent excessive volatility, these exchanges set daily upward and downward price fluctuation limits for each stock, based on the previous day’s closing price. Although transactions may continue at the upward or downward limit price if the limit price is reached on a particular trading day, no transactions may take place outside these limits. Consequently, a holder of ADSs who has surrendered his or her ADSs in favor of shares of our common stock wishing to sell on a Japanese stock exchange at a price above or below the relevant daily limit may not be able to sell his or her shares at such price on a particular trading day, or at all.

U.S. investors may have difficulty in serving process or enforcing a judgment against us or our directors or executive officers.

We are a limited liability, joint stock corporation incorporated under the laws of Japan. Many of our directors and executive officers reside in Japan, Europe or elsewhere outside of the United States, and a large portion of our assets and the assets of these persons are located in Japan and elsewhere outside the United States. It may not be possible, therefore, for U.S. investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or these persons or to enforce against us or these persons judgments obtained in U.S. courts predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States. There is doubt as to the enforceability in Japan, in original actions or in actions for enforcement of judgment of U.S. courts, of liabilities predicated solely upon the federal securities laws of the United States.

Investors holding less than a full unit of shares will have limited rights as shareholders.

Our Articles of Incorporation provide that 100 shares of our common stock constitute one unit. Although holders of ADSs may withdraw shares of our common stock constituting less than one unit, in connection with the direct holding of the shares of our common stock, the Companies Act imposes significant restrictions and limitations on holders of shares of our common stock that do not constitute a full unit. In general, holders of shares of our common stock constituting less than one unit do not have the right to vote with respect to those shares.

Dividend payments and the amount you may realize upon a sale of our ADSs will be affected by fluctuations in the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen.

Cash dividends, if any, in respect of the shares of our common stock represented by our ADSs will be paid to the depositary in Japanese yen and then converted by the depositary into U.S. dollars, subject to certain conditions. Accordingly, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar will affect, among other things, the U.S. dollar amounts a holder of ADSs will receive from the depositary in respect of dividends, the U.S. dollar value of the proceeds that a holder of ADSs would receive upon sale in Japan of the shares of our common stock obtained upon surrender of ADSs and the secondary market price of ADSs.

Our shareholders of record on a given record date may not receive the dividend they anticipate.

The customary dividend payout practice of publicly listed companies in Japan may significantly differ from the practices widely followed or otherwise deemed necessary or fair in foreign markets. We ultimately have a discretion to determine any dividend payment amount to our shareholders of record as of a record date, including whether we will make any dividend payment to such shareholders at all, only after such record date. For that reason, our shareholders of record on a given record date may not receive the dividends they anticipate.

ADS holders may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to claims arising under the deposit agreement, which could result in less favorable outcomes to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.

The deposit agreement governing the ADSs provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial for any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, which may include any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws.

If we or the depositary were to oppose a jury trial based on this waiver, the court would have to determine whether the waiver was enforceable based on the facts and circumstances of the case in accordance with applicable state and federal law. To our knowledge, the enforceability of a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver in connection with claims arising under the federal securities laws has not been finally adjudicated by the United States Supreme Court. However, we believe that a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver provision is generally enforceable, including under the laws of the State of New York, which govern the deposit agreement, or by a federal or state court in the City of New York, which has jurisdiction over matters arising under the deposit agreement. In determining whether to enforce a contractual pre-dispute jury trial waiver, courts will generally consider whether

a party knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waived the right to a jury trial. We believe that this would be the case with respect to the deposit agreement and the ADSs. It is advisable that prospective investors consult legal counsel regarding the jury waiver provision before investing in the ADSs.

As a result, if a holder or beneficial owner of ADSs brings a claim against us or the depositary in connection with matters arising under the deposit agreement or the ADSs, including claims under federal securities laws, such holder or beneficial owner may not be entitled to a jury trial with respect to such claims, which may have the effect of limiting and discouraging lawsuits against us or the depositary. If a lawsuit is brought against us or the depositary under the deposit agreement, it may be heard only by a judge or justice of the applicable trial court, which would be conducted according to different civil procedures and may result in different outcomes than a trial by jury would have, including outcomes that could be less favorable to the plaintiff(s) in any such action.

Nevertheless, if this jury trial waiver is not enforced under applicable law, an action could proceed under the terms of the deposit agreement with a jury trial. No condition, stipulation or provision of the deposit agreement or the ADSs serves as a waiver by any holder or beneficial owner of ADSs or by us or the depositary of compliance with any substantive provision of the U.S. federal securities laws and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Item 4. Information on the Company

We are a global, values-based, research and development driven biopharmaceutical company with operations in approximately 80 countries. We bring highly innovative, life changing medicines to patients across the globe, with prescription drugs marketed directly or through our partners in approximately 100 countries worldwide. Our global workforce is committed to bringing better health and a brighter future to patients. We develop and market pharmaceutical products to treat a broad range of medical conditions including GI diseases, cancer, neurological and psychiatric diseases, and rare diseases including immunology and hematology, as well as plasma-derived therapies and vaccines. We are also committed to our corporate social responsibility program, which is dedicated to global health, and our access to medicine strategy, which aims to increase access to innovative and potentially lifesaving medicines for patients with some of the highest unmet medical needs across the world.

Our 238-year history started in 1781, when Chobei Takeda began selling traditional Japanese and Chinese medicines in Doshomachi, Osaka. After Japan’s Meiji Restoration opened the country to increase overseas trade in the late 1860s, we were one of the first companies to begin importing western medicines into Japan. In 1895, we began our pharmaceutical manufacturing business, and our research division was formed in 1914, allowing us to begin to introduce our own pharmaceutical products. In 1925, we were incorporated as Chobei Takeda & Co., Ltd. and our name was later changed to Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. In 1949, our shares were listed on the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. We began expanding into overseas markets in the 1960s, first in Asia and, subsequently, other markets around the world. We began enhancing our overseas business infrastructure in the late 1990s, with the formation of new subsidiaries in the United States and Europe.

Since 2014, our efforts have been focused on enhancements to our research and development capabilities and successful cross-border merger and acquisition activities and post-acquisition integration. For example, in February 2017, we acquired ARIAD, a commercial-stage biotechnology company and in July 2018, we acquired TiGenix NV, an advanced biopharmaceutical company developing novel stem cell therapies for serious medical conditions, with the aim to bring new treatment options to patients with gastrointestinal disorders.

Most recently, in January 2019, we completed our acquisition of Shire. With the Shire Acquisition, we have taken the next major step in our development into a global pharmaceutical company. The Shire Acquisition allows us to create a global, values-based, research and development-driven biopharmaceutical company with an attractive geographic footprint with a significantly increased presence in the United States, an important and innovation-driven market. Specifically, the Shire Acquisition strengthens our core therapeutic areas, bringing together Takeda and Shire’s complementary positions in GI and neuroscience and providing leading positions in rare diseases and plasma-derived therapies to complement our existing strength in oncology and focused efforts in vaccines. It also creates a highly complementary, robust, modality-diverse pipeline and a strengthened research and development engine focused on innovation.

During the three fiscal years ended March 31, 2019, we have also divested a number of businesses and assets in non-core areas. For example, in April 2017, we completed the sale of our shares in Wako Pure Chemical to FUIJIFILM Corporation and in December 2017, we entered into an agreement with Takashimaya Company Limited to sell our Tokyo Takeda building and the Takeda Shin-Edobashi building. Further, in July 2018, we sold and divested all our shares and assets in Multilab Indústria e Comércio de Produtos Farmacêuticos Ltda. to Novamed Fabricação de Produtos Farmacêuticos Ltda and in August 2018, we sold and divested all our shares and assets in Guangdong Techpool Bio-Pharma Co., Ltd. to Shanghai Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. We will continue to divest certain businesses and assets as we integrate Shire and focus on our core business. For example, on May 9, 2019, we announced the sales of two of our non-core businesses, Xiidra ^® (lifitegrast ophthalmic solution) and TachoSil™ (Fibrin Sealant Patch). For additional details on these transactions, see Note 33 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.

Our principal capital expenditures during the three fiscal years ended March 31, 2019 consisted of additions to property, plant and equipment and additions to intangible assets. In the fiscal years ended March 31, 2017, 2018 and 2019, excluding acquisitions, we made capital expenditures (consisting of the additions to property, plant and equipment and intangible assets recorded on our consolidated balance sheet) of ¥148.1 billion, ¥124.1 billion and ¥244.6 billion, respectively, including the following highlights:

We currently have various capital expenditures projects in process, the most significant of which includes the construction of a biologics facility in Dunboyne, Ireland, which will be funded through internally generated cash flows.

The address of our global head office is 1-1, Nihonbashi-Honcho 2-Chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-8668, Japan; telephone number: 81-3-3278-2306. Takeda’s agent in the United States in connection with this annual report is Shire HGT, Inc., 300 Shire Way, Lexington, MA 02421 U.S.A., telephone number: 1-617-349-0200.

The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov . As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from the rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements to shareholders. Our corporate website is www.takeda.com .

We are a global, values-based, research and development-driven biopharmaceutical company with an innovative portfolio, engaged primarily in the research, development, production and marketing of pharmaceutical products. Our mission is to strive towards a better health and a brighter future for people worldwide through leading innovation in medicine. Our culture is based on the achievement of this mission by acting with integrity, fairness, honesty and perseverance and prioritizing the patient, trust, reputation and the business.

Our three strategic priorities to drive sustainable mid to long-term growth are business area focus, our research and development engine and financial strength.

We are focused on five key business areas of GI, rare diseases, plasma-derived therapies, oncology, and neuroscience. We believe these five business areas will drive our future growth. We have been making targeted acquisitions and divestitures to further increase our level of focus on these areas and plan to continue to refine our business portfolio going forward.

Our research and development engine is based on a therapeutic area focus, a leading partnership model and patient-centric, science-driven culture of innovation. Our strengthened and revitalized research and development engine is focused on the therapeutic areas of oncology, GI, rare diseases and neuroscience with targeted investments in plasma-derived therapies and vaccines. In order to deliver value in areas of high unmet medical needs, we strive to progress our pipelines by focusing on innovative medicines.

Our financial strength involves driving margin expansion and generating cash flows to invest in the business, to deleverage and to return cash to shareholders. We also are prioritizing selected disposal of non-core assets to generate cash in order to accelerate the pace of deleveraging.

We are also focused on successfully executing the integration of Shire while sustaining business momentum. The execution of our integration plan is underway and we believe that the integration will have relatively minimal disruption on the business and pipeline due to the strong strategic and geographic fit of the two companies. We also believe that we will experience minimal disruption to our research and development efforts as we are adding rare diseases to our already defined research and development model. We believe a smooth integration will result in a stronger and more innovative portfolio supported by a lean and focused organization.

Our key growth driver products will be derived from 14 global brands in five business areas and include: ENTYVIO , GATTEX/REVESTIVE, ALOFISEL, NATPARA, ADYNOVATE/ADYNOVI, TAKHZYRO, ELAPRASE, VPRIV, GAMMAGARD LIQUID, HYQVIA, CUVITRU, ALBUMIN/FLEXBUMIN, NINLARO, and ALUNBRIG .

The following is a summary of our principal products by key business area. Revenues attributable to products acquired as part of the Shire Acquisition for the year ended March 31, 2019 given in this section refer to revenues recorded on our consolidated statement of income following the completion of the Shire Acquisition on January 8, 2019.

In GI, our principal products include:

In rare diseases, our principal products are:

In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, our revenue from plasma-derived therapy products was ¥111.7 billion. In plasma-derived therapies, our principal products are:

with a dosing regimen requiring only one infusion up to once per month and one injection site per infusion to deliver a full therapeutic dose of IG. We added HYQVIA to our plasma-derived therapies portfolio with the acquisition of Shire, which was completed in January 2019. HYQVIA is approved in Europe for use by patients with PID syndromes and myeloma or CLL with severe secondary hypogammaglobulinemia and recurrent infections, and in the United States for adults with PID.

In oncology, our principal products include:

In neuroscience, our principal products are:

For a breakdown of revenues by geographic region, see Note 4 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.

Research and Development

Research and development of pharmaceutical products is a lengthy and expensive process that can span more than 10 years. The process includes evaluations of the product’s efficacy and safety, application for approval and investigation and approval by regulatory authorities. Only a small number of compounds pass such detailed investigation and are used in clinical treatments. Once approved, there is ongoing research and development support for marketed products, including medical affairs and other investments.

Clinical trials, which comply with regional and international regulatory guidelines, generally take five to seven years or longer and require substantial expenditures. As a result, only a small fraction of compounds that enter the clinical trials results in commercially viable products. In general, clinical trials are performed in accordance with the guidelines set by the International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use. The relevant regulatory authorities are the MHLW for Japan, the FDA for the United States and the EMA for the EU.

The three phases of human clinical trials, which may overlap with each other, are as follows:

Of these three phases, Phase III requires the largest expenditures and thus the decision to proceed with Phase III testing is a critical business decision in the drug development process. For those drug candidates that pass Phase III clinical trials, a New Drug Application ("NDA") or a Marketing Authorization Application (“MAA”) is submitted to the relevant governmental authorities for approval and subsequent launch of the drug. The preparation of an NDA or MAA involves considerable data collection, verification, analysis and expense. Even after the launch of the product, health authorities require post-marketing surveillance of adverse events, and they may request a post-marketing study to provide additional information regarding the risks and benefits of the product.

In July 2016, we initiated a five-year research and development transformation program to re-invigorate the pipeline and build an agile, global research and development organization driven by innovative science. A significant component of the program has been an intensive focus in the following three key areas:

Our research and development efforts are focused in four key therapeutic areas of oncology, GI, rare diseases and neuroscience, plus the plasma-derived therapies and vaccines business areas.

We have also concentrated our in-house research and development operations in Japan and the United States. We intend to integrate the legacy Shire research and development operations into ours.

Our key in-house research and development facilities include:

In addition to our concentrated efforts to increase our in-house research and development capabilities, external partnerships with third-party partners are a key component of our strategy for enhancing our research and development pipeline. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019, we entered into more than 40 such new partnerships. Our strategy to expand and diversify our external partnerships allows us to take part in research of a wide variety of new products and increases the chances that we will be able to take part in a major research-related breakthrough. See “–Licensing and Collaboration” for further information on our research and development collaborations.

The following summarizes our research and development activities within each of our therapeutic and business areas. The compounds in our pipeline disclosed within the key therapeutic and business areas below are in various stages of development, and the contents of the pipeline may change as compounds currently under development are removed and new compounds are introduced. Whether the compounds listed below are ever successfully released as products depends on various factors, including the results of pre-clinical and clinical trials, market conditions for various drugs and regulatory approvals. The listings in the tables below are limited to the U.S., EU, Japan, and China, but we are also conducting development activities in other regions. "Global" refers to U.S., EU, Japan, and China.

Oncology

In oncology, we endeavor to deliver novel medicines to patients with cancer worldwide through the commitment to breakthrough innovation and a passion for improving the lives of patients. This therapeutic area focuses on three key areas (1) building on our foundational expertise in hematologic

malignancies through continued investment in lifecycle management programs for marketed products NINLARO , ADCETRIS and ICLUSIG , as well as in pipeline assets in multiple myeloma, acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes and other blood cancers, (2) further developing our portfolio in lung cancer and (3) pursuing novel immuno-oncology targets and next-generation platforms with external partners, as well as exploring innovative cell therapies.

Our oncology pipeline as of May 14, 2019 (the date of our annual earnings release), along with notes for major subsequent developments, is as follows:

_____________

Notes:

Notes:

Rare diseases

We acquired our rare disease business and pipeline through our acquisition of Shire. We focus on (1) rare immunology (e.g., Hereditary angioedema) including through recently launched TAKHZYRO to transform the treatment paradigm, (2) rare hematology with the broadest portfolio across our competitors in hematology and (3) rare metabolic diseases, focused on addressing with approved treatments for Fabry disease, Hunter syndrome and Gaucher disease.

Our rare disease pipeline as of May 14, 2019 (the date of our annual earnings release), along with notes for major subsequent developments, is as follows:

_____________

Notes:

Neuroscience

In neuroscience, we aim to bring innovative medicines to patients suffering from neurologic and psychiatric diseases for whom there are no treatments available. We are expanding our presence in psychiatric diseases through continued investment in TRINTELLIX for major depressive disorder and the ADHD portfolio acquired from Shire. We are also building our pipeline in neurology (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease) and selected rare CNS diseases through a combination of in-house expertise and collaboration with partners.

Our neuroscience pipeline as of May 14, 2019 (the date of our annual earnings release), along with notes for major subsequent developments, is as follows:

_____________

Notes:

Plasma-derived therapies

We acquired our plasma derived therapies business and pipeline through our acquisition of Shire. In plasma-derived therapies, we focus on developing products which are essential for effectively treating patients with a variety of rare, life-threatening, chronic and genetic diseases across the world.

Our plasma-derived therapies pipeline as of May 14, 2019 (the date of our annual earnings release), along with notes for major subsequent developments, is as follows:

_____________

Notes:

Vaccines

In vaccines, we apply innovation to develop solutions to treat infectious diseases such as dengue, zika, norovirus, and polio. To support the expansion of our pipeline and the development of our programs, we entered in partnerships with government organizations (in Japan, the U.S., and Singapore) and leading global institutions. Such partnerships are essential to helping us build critical capabilities necessary to deliver on our programs and realize their full potential.

Our vaccines pipeline as of May 14, 2019 (the date of our annual earnings release), along with notes for major subsequent developments, is as follows:

_____________

Notes:

Availability of Raw Materials

In the ordinary course of business, we purchase raw materials and supplies essential to our operations from suppliers around the world. While we develop and manufacture the active ingredients used in some of our products at our own facilities, we are dependent on third-party suppliers for a portion of the raw materials and compounds used in some of the other products we produce. We believe that, in the event we are unable to source any products or ingredients from any of our major suppliers, we could replace those products or substitute ingredients from other suppliers, although we may not be able to do so without significant difficulty or significant increases in our cost of goods sold. While efforts are made to diversify our sources of components and materials, in certain instances we acquire components and materials from a sole supplier.

We are dependent on human donors for the supply of human plasma. Human plasma is a critical active ingredient in our plasma derived therapies. We source human plasma internally and externally through a distinctive and flexible infrastructure, which provides us an enhanced capability with respect to the consistent delivery of high-quality plasma-based products. We own and operate plasma collection facilities, principally the U.S., Austria, Hungary and Czech Republic, and we also maintain relationships with other plasma suppliers to ensure that we retain the flexibility to meet market demand for our plasma-based therapies.

We closely monitor, continuously review and revise the supply sourcing strategy for our products to identify in a timely manner any risks in our supply chain, including risks arising from our dependency on outsourced manufacturing relationships with third party suppliers. Where necessary, inventory levels of either key materials and finished products are managed strategically to address potential risks relating to operational and quality issues, production capacity and single sourcing among others. For critical and new technology products, we have decided to make significant long-term capital investments to build internal manufacturing capacity and secure dual sources to reduce the current dependency on outsourced manufacturing relationship with third-party suppliers.

Manufacturing

Following the acquisition of Shire in January 2019, we will continue to operate locally with the ability to access global manufacturing and distribution networks as required.

The manufacture of our products is highly regulated by governmental health authorities around the world, including the FDA, EMA and PMDA. Furthermore, many of our products involve technically complex manufacturing processes or may require a supply of highly specialized raw materials.

We manufacture certain of our products in our own facilities worldwide. In addition, we source certain other of our products from third-party contract manufacturers. We have a network for over 300 contract manufacturers which support approximately 30% of our products in different capacities such as active pharmaceutical ingredients production and sourcing, bulk drug product, aseptic fill finish and final packaging. We manage the risks associated with reliance on single sources of production by carrying additional inventories.

Sales and Marketing

Our primary sales and marketing activities are organized around United States, Japan Pharma, Europe-Canada (“EUCAN”) and Emerging Markets. These business units make focused investments that support growth potential in the market and enhance efficiency.

The United States is the largest pharmaceutical market in the world. The United States business unit focuses on recently approved products such as ENTYVIO , TRINTELLIX, ADYNOVATE, and TAKHZYRO as well as continuing to grow more established products such as VYVANSE , ADVATE and GAMMAGARD LIQUID . These and other principal products are supported by significant marketing and sales force promotion.

The Japan Pharma business unit focuses on retaining our position as one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in our home market of Japan, where the government is driving stricter control of drug prices and promoting the penetration of generics.

The EUCAN business unit focuses on a specialized approach in the European and Canadian markets, where public insurance has set a higher bar for the reimbursement of medicines, requiring innovation and differentiation for the products to be reimbursed. As Canada’s health insurance system is very similar to that of Europe, the Canadian market is managed by the EUCAN business unit.

The Emerging Markets business unit focuses on maximizing growth potential in areas across Asia Pacific, Greater China, Latin America, Near East, Middle East and Africa and Russia/ CIS.

Intellectual Property

An important part of our business strategy is to protect our products and technologies using patents and trademarks, to the extent available. We rely on trade secrets, proprietary know-how, technological innovations and contractual arrangements with third parties to maintain and enhance our competitive position. Our commercial success depends, in part, upon our ability to obtain and enforce strong patents, to maintain trade secret protection, to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of others and to comply with the terms of licenses granted to it. Due to the lengthy development periods for new drugs, the high costs of research and development and the small percentage of researched compounds that reach the market, the protection of intellectual property plays an important role in the return of investments for research and development of a new drug.

We seek patent protection for proprietary technology whenever possible in the U.S., Japan and major European countries. Where practicable, we seek patent protection in other countries on a selective basis. In all cases, we endeavor to either obtain patent protection itself or support patent applications through licensors. Patents are our primary means of protecting the technologies we use. Patents provide the holder with the right to exclude others from using an invention related to a pharmaceutical product. We use various types of patents to protect our pharmaceutical products, including substance patents, which cover active ingredients, as well as patents covering usage, manufacturing processes and formulation of drugs.

Our low molecule products (small molecules) are mainly protected by substance patents. While the expiration of a substance patent usually results in a loss of market exclusivity for the protected pharmaceutical products, commercial benefits may continue to be protected by non-substance patents such as patents relating to the use of such substance, patents relating to the method of use of such substance, patents relating the manufacturing method of such substance, and patents relating to the new composition or formulation of such substance. The products can be also protected by regulatory data protection under relevant law in each country even if the substance patent expired. While our biologics products can and may be protected by one or more substance patents, certain products may be protected by non-substance patents and/or regulatory data protection. However, for biologics, patent protection may be less important than for traditional pharmaceutical products, as similar products for the same indication and/or biosimilars may be developed and marketed by competitors without infringing on our patents.

In the United States, patents generally expire twenty years after the filing date of the application, subject to potential patent term adjustments for delays in patent issuance based upon certain delays in prosecution by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. A U.S. pharmaceutical patent that claims a product, method of treatment using a product or method of manufacturing a product may also be eligible for a patent term extension based on the time the FDA took to approve the product. This type of extension may only extend the patent term for a maximum of five years and may not extend the patent term beyond fourteen years from regulatory approval. Only one patent may be extended for any product based on FDA delay. In addition to patent exclusivities, the FDA may provide data or market exclusivity for a new chemical entity or an “orphan drug,” each of which run in parallel to any patent protection. Regulatory data protection or exclusivity prevents a potential generic competitor from relying on clinical trial data that were generated by the sponsor when establishing the safety and efficacy of its competing product for a period of five years for a new chemical entity, or seven years for an orphan drug. Market exclusivity prohibits any marketing of the same drug for the same indication.

In Japan, a patent can be issued for active pharmaceutical ingredients by the Japan Patent Office (“JPO”). Although methods of treatment, such as dosage and administration, are not patentable in Japan, pharmaceutical compositions for a specific dosage or administration method as well as processes to make a pharmaceutical composition are patentable. Patents in Japan generally expire 20 years after the filing date of the patent application. Patents for pharmaceuticals may be extended for up to five years, depending on the amount of time spent for the drug approval process. Japan also has a regulatory data protection system called a “re-examination period” of eight years for pharmaceuticals that contain new active pharmaceutical ingredients and four years to six years for new indications and formulations and a ten-year orphan drug exclusivity system.

In the EU, patent applications may be filed in the European Patent Office (“EPO”) or in a country in Europe. The EPO system permits a single application to be granted for the EU, plus certain other non-EU countries, such as Switzerland and Turkey. When the EPO grants a patent, it is then validated in the countries that the patent owner designates. The term of a patent granted by the EPO or a European country office is generally 20 years from the filing date of the patent application. Pharmaceutical patents covering an approved medicinal product can be granted a further period of exclusivity under the Supplementary Protection Certificate (“SPC”) system. SPCs are designed to compensate the owner of the patent for the time it took to receive marketing authorization by the European Medicines Agency or the National Health Authorities. An SPC may be granted to provide, in combination with the patent, up to 15 years of exclusivity from the date of the first European marketing authorization. However, an SPC cannot last longer than five years. The SPC duration can additionally be extended by a further Pediatric Extension of six months if the SPC relates to a medicinal product for children for which data has been submitted according to a Pediatric Investigation Plan ("PIP"). The post-grant phase of patents, including the SPC system, is currently administered on a country-by-country basis under national laws. Therefore, although regulations concerning patents and SPCs have been created at EPO and EU level, respectively, due to different national implementation they may not always lead to the same result, for example, if challenged at National Courts in the various EU countries. The EU also provides a system of regulatory data exclusivity for authorized human medicines, which runs in parallel to any patent protection. The system for drugs being approved today is usually referred to as “8+2+1” rule because it provides an initial period of eight years of data exclusivity, during which a competitor cannot rely on the relevant data, a further period of two years of market exclusivity, during which the data can be used to support applications for marketing authorization but the competitive product cannot be launched and a possible one-year extension of the market exclusivity period if, during the initial eight-year data exclusivity period, the sponsor registered a new therapeutic indication for the concerned drug. However, the additional one-year extension is only available if either no therapy exists for the new indication or if the concerned product provides for the new indication a "significant clinical benefit over existing therapies". This system applies both to national and centralized authorizations. The EU also has an orphan drug exclusivity system for medicines similar to the U.S system. If a medicine is designated as an orphan drug, it benefits from ten years of market exclusivity, during which time a similar medicine for the same indication will not receive marketing authorization. Under certain circumstances, this exclusivity can be extended with a two-year Pediatric Extension for completion of a PIP.

Worldwide, we experience challenges in the area of intellectual property from factors such as the penetration of generic versions of our products following the expiry of the relevant patents and the launch by competitors of over-the-counter versions of our products. Our Global General Counsel is responsible for the oversight of our Intellectual Property operations, as well as our legal operations. Our Intellectual Property Department supports our overall corporate strategy by focusing efforts on three main themes:

As infringement of our intellectual property rights poses a risk of loss of expected earnings derived from those rights, we have internal processes in place to manage patents and other intellectual property. This program includes both remaining vigilant against patent infringement by others as well as exercising caution, starting at the research and development stage, to ensure that our products and activities do not violate intellectual property rights held by others.

In the regular course of business, our patents may be challenged by third parties. We are party to litigation or other proceedings relating to intellectual property rights. Details of material ongoing litigation are provided in Note 32 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in this annual report.

The following table describes our outstanding substance patents and the regulatory data protection (“RDP”) (US and EU) or re-examination period (“RP”) (Japan) for the indicated product by territory and expiry date. The table includes RDP or RP information only if the protection provided by regulatory exclusivity exceeds the patent expiry. Patent term extensions (“PTE”), supplemental protection certificates (“SPC”), and pediatric exclusivity periods (“PEP”) are reflected in the expiry dates to the extent they have been granted by the issuing authority. For PTE’s, SPC’s, and PEP’s in which the application is in process but not yet granted, the extended expiry is separately provided.

Our biologic products may face or already face competition from companies who produce similar products for the same indications, and/or biosimilars, regardless of expiry dates below. Certain of the European patents are the subject of supplemental protection certificates that provide additional protection for the product in certain countries beyond the dates listed in the table.