Primary Focuses

Addressing unmet patient need through our early-stage pipeline

A purple DNA model, illustrating Astellas’ Focus Area Approach.
A purple DNA model, illustrating Astellas’ Focus Area Approach.

Our Focus Area Approach

Astellas has established a Focus Area Approach for our research and development (R&D) strategy. This strategy helps us to build a sustainable, expandable drug discovery approach to develop new platforms, leverage expertise and create innovative therapies.

 

Our approach combines three core components:

  1. We harness an in-depth understanding of disease biology – how diseases originate, develop and thrive in the body. This enables us to identify the most promising mechanisms of action for treatment. 
  2. We use versatile technologies and modalities, innovative therapeutic molecules and delivery methods with unique applications that allow us to physically reach and interrupt those biological mechanisms efficiently, effectively and safely. 
  3. We select diseases with high unmet needs – those which have few or no current treatments and a significant impact on quality or length of life – that will respond positively to the biology/modality combination. This ensures our efforts deliver meaningful VALUE for the patients that need our help the most.

Four Primary Focuses

  1. Blindness and Regeneration: Helping to free patients from the fear of vision loss and offer the hope of recovery and restored sight.
  2. Genetic Regulation: Developing genetic medicines with the potential to deliver transformative VALUE for patients.
  3. Immuno-Oncology: Harnessing a deep understanding of cancer immunology to develop the oncology medicines of tomorrow.
  4. Targeted Protein Degradation: Targeting harmful proteins to transform the treatment of ‘undruggable’ diseases including cancer and others with high unmet need.

Click below to learn more about each of Astellas' Primary Focuses.

A blue eyeball illustrates Astellas’ focus on blindness and regeneration.

Blindness and Regeneration

A DNA model illustrates Astellas’ focus on genetic regulation.

Genetic Regulation

An orange scientific model illustrates Astellas’ focus on targeted protein degradation.

Targeted Protein Degradation