BRIEF—Astellas updates on new R&D, manufacturing facilities

Japanese drug major Astellas Pharma says that construction and renovation of new facilities for the research, development and manufacture of new drugs using new Modality/Technology has begun in Toyama and Tsukuba, Japan, as well as Massachusetts, USA.

Astellas is focused on creating innovative healthcare solutions for patients with high unmet medical needs through unique combinations of Biology and Modality/Technology based on emerging science.

In addition to the small molecules from which it discovered a large number of new drugs, Astellas is engaged in R&D of new drugs that utilize not only antibody approaches but new modalities such as cell therapy, next generation vaccines and gene therapy.

Astellas currently has multiple development programs utilizing these approaches at the clinical and pre-clinical stage.

Therefore, Astellas has, with a view to the future progress of development and commercialization of these programs, decided to construct R&D facilities in Japan and overseas, as well as facilities for the manufacture of clinical trial materials (CTM) and for the initial commercial production of these products.