Astellas Pharma Inc. has approved changes to its Representative Director, President and CEO and its management structure.
 
Astellas has been working on its Corporate Strategic Plan 2018 and Corporate Strategic Plan 2021 (“CSP2021”) since fiscal year 2018, when Kenji Yasukawa was appointed as President and CEO, to realize its VISION “On the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients”. During this time, Astellas overcame the patent cliff associated with the expiration of products exclusivity that had supported its growth in the past, and revenue grew after bottoming out in fiscal year 2020. 
 
Astellas moved away from its past business model of creating products with a focus on specific disease areas and promoted a shift to the Focus Area approach of determining R&D areas from a multifaceted perspective and is also making progress in developing new drug candidates that will drive future revenues.
 
For fiscal year 2023, the company aims to go on the aggressive to further accelerate growth, and Naoki Okamura will take over as new President and CEO. Astellas decided on new leadership to implement strategies for achieving CSP2021, which ends in fiscal year 2025, and long-term growth. The company aims to address a changing environment such as increasing geopolitical risks and changes in the finances and markets of each country due to the COVID-19 crisis, with new top management that has the ability to be flexible in response to such changes.
 
Additionally, effective April 1, 2023, Claus Zieler will be appointed as Chief Commercial Officer. He joined Astellas Group in 2019 as president, International Markets Commercial with experience in the commercial area at Schering and Bayer. He was appointed as President, Established Markets Commercial in January 2022. Together with Yukio Matsui, the current CCO, he has been implementing several imperative changes.
 
Also, Adam Pearson will be appointed as CStO. Since joining Astellas Group (former Yamanouchi Group) in 2004 after working at Boston Consulting Group, he has held various positions including Regional Senior Vice President, North Europe, Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. and General Manager, United Kingdom, Astellas Pharma Ltd., and since 2020 has been Division Head of Corporate Strategy, leading the development and promotion of CSP2021.