Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda Pharmaceutical Co (TYO:4502), which distributes Moderna Inc's (Nasdaq:MRNA) COVID-19 shots in Japan, expects vaccines to become a bigger part of its portfolio, as shots for dengue fever and COVID-19 near regulatory approval, Reuters news agency reported on Tuesday.

The company has traditionally been known more for its cancer and gastrointestinal treatments. However, vaccines have defined much of the company's activities during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it worked to bring foreign-developed shots into Japan.

Takeda CEO Christophe Weber was quoted as saying in an interview broadcast at Reuters Events' Pharma Japan 2021 conference that vaccine production is a business that "when established, has a very long life."

"There is no generic of vaccines, for example. So it's a different type of lifecycle, but it can be a very good business if you bring innovation," he added.

Takeda's dengue fever vaccine was submitted to European regulators in March 2021 and the company said it planned to file for approval in several South American and Asian countries this year.

The company has also imported about 50 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine into Japan and has a license to manufacture Novavax Inc's (Nasdaq:NVAX) vaccine, which is still undergoing trials.