STAINES, England, April 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. (APEL), the European subsidiary of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc., one of the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies, today announced the appointment of Ken Jones as its President and CEO.

Mr Jones, who since July 2007 has held the position of COO at Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., succeeds Mr Masao Yoshida, who has been appointed as President and CEO of Astellas Pharma US, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc.

In 2009-10, a challenging time for the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, APEL achieved EUR1.4 billion in sales, representing growth of 9% against the previous year's EUR1.3 billion and forecasting 1.5 billion (10%) in the forecast FY2010. As Mr Jones takes up leadership, APEL is well positioned to achieve the goals defined in its mid-term strategy: reinforcement of category leadership in Transplantation and Urology; franchise expansion in Pain Management, Anti-Infectives and Oncology, and the delivery of treatments in areas where unmet medical needs still exist. Two strategic alliances announced in February 2011 demonstrate Astellas' commitment to these goals: APEL has entered into a partnership agreement with Optimer Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the development and commercialisation in Europe and selected other countries of fidaxomicin for the treatment of clostridium difficile infection. In addition, Astellas is partnering with AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc (AVEO). to commercialise and develop tivozanib which is currently under investigation in clinical trials for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma as well as a broad range of other cancers.

Mr Jones, President and CEO of Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., commented:

"I am delighted and honoured to be taking on this new role and I look forward to building on Astellas Pharma Europe's considerable achievements. In spite of the tough market conditions which the industry is facing, we're in a strong position and have clear strategies for growth through expanding and developing our core franchises. Having the stability of a large company combined with the agility of a smaller operation gives us a real competitive advantage in terms of our ability to achieve these goals by responding rapidly to opportunities in the market. Our recent partnerships with Optimer and AVEO are good examples of this and have enriched our Anti-Infectives and Oncology pipelines significantly. I hope to continue to drive solid growth for Astellas Pharma Europe in the years ahead."

Mr Jones joined the company (then Yamanouchi) in January 2003 as Vice President, European Marketing and in 2005, when Fujisawa and Yamanouchi merged to produce Astellas, was promoted to Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Medical. Previously, Jones spent 16 years with Allergan, Inc. ("Allergan"), holding senior international marketing positions across the US, Europe and Japan. His career began as a management associate with SmithKline Beckman in Philadelphia, followed by increasingly senior roles in Allergan, working in France, Japan, UK and at Allergan HQ in Irvine, California. Jones holds an MSc from the London Business School, a BA from Occidental College, Eagle Rock (and he attended Waseda University in Japan as part of a foreign exchange student programme). He speaks Japanese and French fluently.

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.:

Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd., located in the UK, is a European subsidiary of Tokyo-based Astellas Pharma Inc. Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceuticals. The organisation is committed to becoming a global company by combining outstanding R&D and marketing capabilities and continuing to grow in the world pharmaceutical market. Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd. is responsible for 21 affiliate offices located across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, an R&D site and three manufacturing plants. The company employs approximately 3,900 staff across these regions. For more information about Astellas Pharma Europe, please visit http://www.astellas.eu.

    CONTACT

    Mindy Dooa
    Corporate Communications Director
    Tel: +44(0)1784-419408 / +44-7826-912-339
    Mindy.dooa@eu.astellas.com
    http://www.astellas.eu

SOURCE Astellas Pharma Europe Ltd.