Astellas Pharma
 | |
| Company type | Public (K.K.) |
|---|---|
| TYO: 4503 JASDAQ: 4503 | |
| Industry | Pharmaceuticals |
| Founded | 2005 (from merger) |
| Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
Key people | Yoshihiko Hatanaka, President & CEO |
| Revenue |  ¥ 972,586 million JPY (FY 2007) |
| ¥ 177,437 million JPY (FY 2007) | |
Number of employees | 17,085 (2012) [1] |
| Website | http://www.astellas.com |
Astellas Pharma Inc. (アステラス製薬株式会社, Asuterasu Seiyaku Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese pharmaceutical company, formed on 1 April 2005 from the merger of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (山之内製薬株式会社, Yamanouchi Seiyaku Kabushiki-gaisha) and Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (藤沢薬品工業株式会社, Fujisawa Yakuhin Kōgyō Kabushiki-gaisha).
Information
Astellas' franchise areas are urology, immunology (transplantation), dermatology, cardiology, and infectious disease. Priority areas for R&D are infectious diseases, diabetes, gastrointestinal diseases, oncology, and diseases of the central nervous system.
The company's headquarters are in Tokyo, with research centers in Tsukuba and Osaka. Clinical development is centred in Northbrook, Illinois and Leiderdorp, Netherlands. Combined revenues of the two pre-merger companies were $7.9 billion in 2004. Worldwide the company employs about 17,000 people.
Its advertising slogans are:
- English: Leading Light for Life
- Japanese: Ashita wa kaerareru. (明日は変えられる。, Changing Tomorrow.)[2]
History
Fujisawa Shoten was started in 1894 by Tomokichi Fujisawa in Osaka, and was renamed Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co. in 1943.
Yamanouchi Yakuhin Shokai was started in 1923 by Kenji Yamanouchi in Osaka. The company was renamed Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. in 1940 and moved to Tokyo in 1942.
Both companies started their overseas expansion at about the same time, opening offices in Taiwan in 1962 and 1963, respectively, and in the United States and Europe from 1977 onwards. Fujisawa acquired Lyphomed in 1990 and thereafter established its US R&D center in Deerfield, Illinois. Yamanouchi's R&D center in Leiderdorp was established with the acquisition of the pharmaceutical division of Royal Gist Brocades in 1991.
Fujisawa and Yamanouchi combined in a "merger of equals," forming Astellas Pharma on 1 April 2005.
At least some of its older products continue to be distributed under the original brand, ostensibly due to high brand-name recognition.[3]
On June 9, 2010, Astellas acquired OSI Pharmaceuticals for $4.0 billion.
Products
Some of the key products produced by Astellas include:
- Prograf (tacrolimus) - Prevention of post-transplant organ rejection
- Protopic (tacrolimus ointment) - Atopic dermatitis (eczema)
- Amevive (alefacept) - Plaque psoriasis
- VESIcare (solifenacin succinate) - Overactive bladder (OAB) marketed with GlaxoSmithKline
- Myrbetriq (mirabegron) - Overactive bladder (OAB)
- Flomax (tamsulosin hydrochloride) - Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
- Adenocard (adenosine injection) - Pharmacologic stress agent for myocardial perfusion scan
- Adenoscan (adenosine injection) - Pharmacologic stress agent for myocardial perfusion scan
- Lexiscan (regadenoson injection) - Pharmacologic stress agent for myocardial perfusion scan
- Vaprisol (conivaptan) - Hyponatremia
- AmBisome (amphotericin B) - Anti-fungal
- Mycamine (micafungin sodium) - Anti-fungal
- Symoron (methadone HCL) - narcotics misuse cessation
- Tarceva (erlotinib) - Non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer
- Xtandi (enzalutamide) - Prostate cancer
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Corporate Philosophy of Astellas Pharma".
- ^ "Yamanouchi Pimafucin (natamycin) product line manufactured at least up to 11/2007"
External links
