In the slow and steady climb toward approval for a new class of narcolepsy drugs, Takeda is inching closer to the mountaintop, ahead of the closest competitor. Analysts see a potential blockbuster in the Japanese company’s oveporexton, which in a late-stage study improved patients’ wakefulness and overall quality of life. While rival pharma Alkermes isn’t far behind, its own drug has garnered more mixed results.

Takeda’s upward journey in pharma has taken the drugmaker in new directions. Having transformed as a company since acquiring Ireland’s Shire for a massive $62 billion in 2019, Takeda has expanded into territories that include plasma-derived therapies, now a major aspect of its portfolio.

To keep the plasma business flowing, Takeda requires donations from healthy people. A group of employees from the company decided to get the word out in a unique way: by climbing the iconic, sacred Mt. Fuji in the drugmaker’s home country of Japan to raise awareness, funds and support for plasma donations and development of life-saving therapies.

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