Takeda appoints Koki Sato as new country head for India

New Delhi: Takeda India has announced the appointment of Koki Sato as the Country Head for the Company's India business. In his current capacity, he will lead the company's operations with a focus on the expansion of patient access to Takeda's highly innovative portfolio in the country.

Koki joined Takeda in 2003 and, since then, grew within the company to hold various senior international roles across multiple functions, including Commercial Operations, Finance, and HR. Prior to this role, Koki was the General Manager of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova (UBM) Cluster in Takeda's ICMEA* Area.

Commenting on his new role, Koki Sato said, "India is of significant importance for Takeda and we endeavor to develop initiatives which will lead to enhanced patient access to our highly innovative medicines locally. We remain committed to serving India's patients, and aim to bring newer therapies for rare diseases, gastroenterology, and oncology to them in the coming years, along with hopefully, our Dengue vaccine candidate."

Across its ICMEA* Area, and more broadly across the countries that span its Growth & Emerging Markets Business Unit, Takeda collaborates with healthcare providers, governments and regulators, to ensure that its portfolio of innovative medicines is made available to patients as quickly and safely as possible.

Koki will be officially assuming his position from April 1, 2020. He is a Japanese national and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Economics from Waseda University, Japan.

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Takeda India is part of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited's group of companies, headquartered in Japan. In the country, the company currently focuses on the therapeutic areas of Rare Diseases, including Hemophilia and Lysosomal Storage Disorders and plasma-derived therapies. Takeda has a presence across the Indian subcontinent, including in Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh.