Astellas announces new European senior appointments

Astellas has announced a pair of key appointments to its senior leadership team for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

Simon Dew has been promoted to the position of chief strategy officer at Astellas Pharma EMEA, having previously served as vice-president for business and commercial development.

Succeeding Naoki Okamura – who is taking over the role of corporate vice-president for licensing and alliances at Astellas' Tokyo headquarters – Mr Dew will help to steer the European business as its seeks to build on its leadership in urology and transplantation, while building a portfolio of cancer drugs.

Meanwhile, Jun Kono has been appointed as vice-president for corporate strategy and communications and will join Mr Dew's team, helping to guide the strategic direction of the firm's mid-term plans, product portfolio and commercial operations.

Ken Jones, president and chief executive officer of Astellas Pharma in Europe, said: "These are important appointments to our strong senior leadership team as we review our strategic direction to support the company's continued success."

This comes after the company recently announced a new alliance with Cancer Research UK on a project to find new oncology drug targets, with an initial focus on pancreatic cancer.