Astellas Unveils New, State-of-the-Art, $90 Million West Coast Innovation Center in the South San Francisco Biotech Corridor

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May 08, 2024, 11:39 ET

- 154,000 square-foot lab and office facility creates a central location for Astellas' West Coast cell and gene therapy research and business development operations

TOKYO and SAN FRANCISCO, May 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura, "Astellas") today announced the opening of a new $90 million, state-of-the-art center at 480 Forbes Boulevard in South San Francisco, CA. The newly built 154,000-square-foot lab and office facility expands the company's commitment to South San Francisco's biotech ecosystem and creates a central location for its West Coast employees across Research, Technical Operations, Medical and Development and Commercial, previously located in multiple locations throughout the Bay Area.

Yoshitsugu Shitaka, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Astellas
"I am excited to see Astellas open a state-of-the-art West Coast Innovation Center in South San Francisco, one of the most prestigious biotechnology centers in the world. By bringing together our Bay Area businesses, including Astellas Gene Therapies, Xyphos Biosciences, Business Development, and Rx+^® Business Accelerator, we will foster even greater collaboration and productivity, enabling us to advance our efforts in delivering innovative new treatments and value to patients around the world."

The Astellas West Coast Innovation Center opened its doors to employees in December 2023. The facility's on-site cafeteria, auditorium and additional amenities are scheduled to be completed in Summer 2024. The high-tech lab in the building offers scientists a fully modular, moveable and flexible space, allowing them to work in a dynamic environment where innovation and collaboration thrive. This new environment will empower Astellas teams to seamlessly unite for transformative outcomes, providing space to scale as needed for critical initiatives.

About Astellas
Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+® healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en.

Cautionary Notes
In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties.

Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.

SOURCE ASTELLAS PHARMA INC.