Ken Takeshita

Global Head of Research and Development

Daiichi Sankyo

Ken Takeshita, MD, is Global Head of Research & Development at Daiichi Sankyo, leading nearly 3,000 scientists and physicians across the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Asia to advance the company’s oncology pipeline, including pioneering antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs). Under his leadership, Daiichi Sankyo has published five articles in the New England Journal of Medicine and secured regulatory approvals for four drugs—Enhertu, Datroway, Ezharmia, and Delytact—across 10 indications globally.

Enhertu, a breakthrough ADC for breast, gastric, and lung cancers, has treated nearly 150,000 patients worldwide and sparked broad industry interest in ADC therapies. Before joining Daiichi Sankyo in 2021, Dr. Takeshita was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Development at Kite Pharma (a Gilead Sciences company), leading development of cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus for hematologic cancers. He also served as Corporate Vice President of Clinical R&D at Celgene, overseeing approvals of Revlimid and Istodax.

Born in Tokyo, Dr. Takeshita emigrated to Newark, Delaware at age 9. He earned degrees from Harvard University and Yale Medical School, followed by postdoctoral training in hematology, oncology, and developmental biology at Yale and the University of Tokyo. Prior to industry, he was junior faculty at Yale and NYU, serving as principal investigator on NIH-funded research programs.