- Business
- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503) is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and commercializes innovative prescription pharmaceuticals focused on areas of high unmet medical need, including oncology, ophthalmology, urology, immunology, and women's health; its core on-market portfolio features transformative therapies such as enfortumab vedotin (PADCEV) for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer, avacincaptad pegol (IZERVAY) for geographic atrophy secondary to age-related macular degeneration, fezolinetant (VEOZAH) for moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause, zolbetuximab (VYLOY) for HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma with claudin 18.2-positive tumors, gilteritinib (XOSPATA) for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia with FLT3 mutations, enzalutamide (XTANDI) for advanced prostate cancer across multiple stages including metastatic hormone-sensitive and castration-resistant forms, mirabegron (MYRBETRIQ) for overactive bladder, and tacrolimus (PROGRAF) as an immunosuppressant to prevent organ rejection in kidney, liver, heart, or lung transplants, among historic global brands like Vesicare, Protopic, Harnal, and Funguard. Founded in 2005 through the merger of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical (established 1923) and Fujisawa Pharmaceutical (established 1894), the company is headquartered at 2-5-1 Nihonbashi-Honcho, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo 103-8411, Japan, and maintains operations in more than 70 countries across Japan, the United States, Europe, and other regions, with over 13,500 employees worldwide and FY2024 global revenue of ¥1,912.3 billion ($12.58 billion), including research centers in Tsukuba and Osaka, Japan, clinical development hubs in Northbrook, Illinois; La Jolla, California; and Leiden, Netherlands; and subsidiaries such as Astellas US LLC. In recent developments, Astellas signed a definitive agreement in March 2025 with YASKAWA Electric Corporation to establish a joint venture developing a cell therapy manufacturing platform using the dual-arm robot Maholo, offering access to startups and academia to overcome commercialization challenges; entered a research and license agreement in August 2025 with Xyphos Biosciences (via Kelonia Therapeutics) combining iGPS and ACCEL technologies for up to two in vivo CAR-T programs targeting immuno-oncology with up to $875 million in potential payments; enhanced Irish operations in June 2025 with investments expanding aseptic drug production capacity for antibody drugs and global supply; launched VYLOY in Japan and the US in 2024 for advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer; and opened new innovation centers in South San Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 2024, alongside acquiring Iveric Bio in 2023 and Propella Therapeutics in 2023 to bolster ophthalmology, oncology, and gene therapy pipelines.