TOKYO, April 25, 2024 – Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura, “Astellas”) today announced that at a meeting of its Board of Directors held today, it decided a change in Directors as stated below. This change is subject to approval at the 19th Term Annual Shareholders Meeting and a decision at the Board of Directors meeting, both scheduled on June 20, 2024.
1. Candidates for Directors (excluding Directors who Are Audit & Supervisory Committee Members)
| Name | Current Position | |
| Kenji Yasukawa | Reelection | Representative Director, Chairman of the Board |
| Naoki Okamura | Reelection | Representative Director, President and CEO |
| Katsuyoshi Sugita | Reelection | Representative Director, Executive Vice President, Chief People Officer and Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer |
| Takashi Tanaka | Outside Reelection | Representative Director, Chairman of the Board, KDDI CORPORATION Director, Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company |
| Eriko Sakurai | Outside Reelection | Outside Director, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. Outside Director, Kao Corporation Outside Director, Nippon Sheet Glass Company, Ltd |
| Masahiro Miyazaki | Outside Reelection | Outside Director, Kurita Water Industries Ltd. |
| Yoichi Ohno | Outside Reelection | Visiting Professor, Social Medicine, Research Administration Center and Medical Education Center, Saitama Medical University |
The current position of the candidates for outside Directors describes significant concurrent positions at other organizations pursuant to the Companies Act.
2. Candidates for Directors who Are Audit & Supervisory Committee Members
| Name | Current Position | |
| Rika Hirota | New Candidate | Report to CEO |
| Mika Nakayama | Outside Reelection | |
| Tomoko Aramaki | Outside New Candidate | President, Aramaki CPA Office Outside Director, FUJI SOFT INCORPORATED Outside Director, EXEO Group, Inc. Outside Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member, TRE HOLDINGS CORPORATION |
The current position of the candidates for outside Directors describes significant concurrent positions at other organizations pursuant to the Companies Act.
3. Directors to Be Retired
Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member Toru Yoshimitsu
Outside Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member Raita Takahashi
4. The Board of Directors as from June 20, 2024 (planned)
Kenji Yasukawa (Representative Director, Chairman of the Board)
Naoki Okamura (Representative Director, President and CEO)
Katsuyoshi Sugita (Representative Director, Executive Vice President)
Takashi Tanaka (Outside Director)
Eriko Sakurai (Outside Director)
Masahiro Miyazaki (Outside Director)
Yoichi Ohno (Outside Director)
Rika Hirota (Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member)
Mika Nakayama (Outside Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member)
Rie Akiyama (Outside Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member)
Tomoko Aramaki (Outside Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member)
（Reference）
- Brief Biographies of New Candidates for Director, Audit & Supervisory Committee Member
Name: Rika Hirota
Date of birth: December 18, 1966
Resume, position and responsibilities at the Company:
| April 1991 | Joined the Company |
| April 2015 | Head, Bioscience Research Laboratories, Drug Discovery Research, the Company |
| April 2017 | Head, Research Regulatory Management, Drug Discovery Research, the Company |
| April 2022 | Head, Research Regulation and Administration, Applied Research and Operations, the Company |
| January 2023 | Special Advisor, Audit & Supervisory Committee Office, the Company |
| April 2023 | Head, Audit & Supervisory Committee Office, the Company |
| April 2024 | Report to CEO, the Company (present post) |
Name: Tomoko Aramaki
Date of birth: November 7, 1968
Resume, position and responsibilities at the Company:
| October 1991 | Joined Century Audit Corporation (current Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC) （resigned in October 2001） |
| March 1995 | Registered as Certified Public Accountant |
| February 2006 | President, Aramaki CPA Office （present post） |
| April 2006 | Registered as Certified Tax Accountant |
| June 2008 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, PARIS MIKI HOLDINGS Inc. |
| June 2015 | Director, in charge of Investor Relations, PARIS MIKI HOLDINGS Inc. |
| December 2015 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, SACOS CORPORATION |
| June 2018 | Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Member, KYOWA EXEO CORPORATION (current EXEO Group, Inc.) |
| March 2022 | Outside Director, FUJI SOFT INCORPORATED (present post) |
| June 2023 | Outside Director, EXEO Group, Inc. (present post) |
| June 2023 | Outside Director (Audit & Supervisory Committee Member), TRE HOLDINGS CORPORATION (present post) |
About Astellas
Astellas Pharma Inc. is a pharmaceutical company conducting business in more than 70 countries around the world. We are promoting the Focus Area Approach that is designed to identify opportunities for the continuous creation of new drugs to address diseases with high unmet medical needs by focusing on Biology and Modality. Furthermore, we are also looking beyond our foundational Rx focus to create Rx+® healthcare solutions that combine our expertise and knowledge with cutting-edge technology in different fields of external partners. Through these efforts, Astellas stands on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into VALUE for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en.
Cautionary Notes
In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management’s current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas’ intellectual property rights by third parties.
Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.
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