Japan, February 9, 2006 - Astellas Pharma Inc. ("Astellas"; headquarters: Tokyo; President and CEO: Toichi Takenaka) today announced a following statement with regard to the news appeared on the front page of the day's morning edition of Asahi Shimbun titled as "Acquisition of Zepharma Inc."

"Although Astellas always studies every possible opportunity to maximize its business value, Astellas has made no concrete decision, including sell-off of Zepharma Inc. to Taisho Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd."

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