- To ensure a stable supply, a new logistics center for the Kyushu area will open and be added to the existing three logistics centers -
TOKYO, December 16, 2020 - Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., “Astellas” ) today announced that Astellas will open a new logistics center for the Kyushu area in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. The domestic logistics platform will expand to four centers by January 2021, including the existing logistics centers in the western Japan area and eastern Japan area, the joint-operated logistics center in Sapporo, Hokkaido1 that began its operation in January 2018. With this new structure, Astellas will aim to further strengthen its system for ensuring a stable supply of pharmaceuticals.
As part of the Business Continuity Plan (BCP), maintaining a stable supply of pharmaceuticals even during pandemic of infectious disease or natural disasters such as earthquakes, storms, and flooding is one of the most important missions of a pharmaceutical company. Moreover, in December 2018, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare released the Japanese edition of the “Good Distribution Practice (GDP)” guideline2 demanding stricter quality assurance during storage and transport in compliance with the GDP. On top of this, there are also distribution-related challenges such as a shortage of truck drivers, ensuring safe driving, and reducing CO2 emissions.
In view of the situation mentioned above, Astellas has decided to increase the number of domestic logistics centers from the current three centers to four for reducing the risk in distribution, thereby further strengthen its system for ensuring a stable supply of pharmaceuticals. Astellas believes that ensuring an even more robust system for a stable product supply cannot be developed by Astellas alone and considers the cooperation of the stakeholders involved with logistics of pharmaceuticals, including other pharmaceutical companies, as well as the standardization of processes, to be of crucial importance. Astellas aims to establish, at logistics centers in Kyushu as well as in western and eastern Japan, system similar to those that are currently being implemented at the jointly-operated logistics center in Hokkaido with a joint storage and joint transportation structure participated by multiple number of pharmaceutical companies.
The creation of a stable and efficient logistics platform will enable Astellas to fulfill its mission of maintaining a stable supply of pharmaceutical products and ensuring their quality at all times. It will also give a sense of security to patients and medical institutions.
Astellas has already reflected the impact from this decision in its financial forecast of the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.
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