Astellas appoints European president and CEO

Astellas has announced the appointment of Ken Jones as the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of its Astellas Pharma Europe business.

Mr Jones takes over in the leadership role from Masao Yoshida, who is assuming the post of president and CEO of the pharmaceutical company's US operations.

He originally joined Yamanouchi in 2003, prior to the merger with Fujisawa that created Astellas, following a 16-year spell with fellow healthcare company Allergan.

Most recently, he has been serving in the role of chief operating officer.

Commenting on his promotion, Mr Jones expressed confidence in the business' future growth, thanks to its recent efforts to expand its portfolio via partnerships with the likes of Aveo and Optimer.

"Having the stability of a large company combined with the agility of a smaller operation gives us a real competitive advantage," he added.

This comes after Astellas agreed a drug development partnership with Cardeus Pharmaceuticals covering three new compounds earlier this month.