Japan’s Astellas has announced plans to set up another subsidiary in the USA which will act as its new headquarters for global clinical development.
The establishment of Astellas Pharma Global Development, which will be located in Deerfield, Illinois, will help the firm “optimise development strategies” and administer global projects. The move includes a plan to build “a global management system”, which Astellas says will “enable quick and accurate decision-making in order to strengthen its competitiveness in the worldwide pharmaceutical market”.
The move is part of Astellas’ Vision 2015 plan which will see the firm expand its operations in the USA, Europe and the rest of Asia while maintaining its main operations base in Japan. Also Astellas is following the example of other Japanese drugmakers, notably Takeda, Daiichi Sankyo and Eisai, who are concentrating their R&D activities in the USA as well.
APGD will be headed by Steven Ryder, formerly a senior vice president of global R&D at Pfizer.
