05:54 AM EDT, 04/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Takeda Pharmaceutical Co ( TAK ) has agreed to form a joint venture with Astellas Pharma and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation for the incubation of early drug discovery programs, the companies said Monday.

The new entity, which will be based in Japan, will focus on advancing drug discovery programs originating in the country into the global market, incubating drug discovery technologies and support the creation of "high-caliber" start-up companies, they said.

The joint venture is expected to be established by mid-2024.