NORTHBROOK, Ill., Sept. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas has appointed James Kellerman as the vice president of intellectual property (IP) in the Americas. Kellerman will report directly to Linda Friedman, senior vice president & general counsel at Astellas. In his new role, Kellerman will lead a team of patent attorneys to partner with the business and manage the region's intellectual property matters, coordinating closely with his global colleagues.

"I am very pleased to welcome Jim to Astellas. Jim brings a broad perspective of the industry and a breadth of pharmaceutical IP experience to his new position. He will be a strong leader for our IP group," said Friedman.

Kellerman has more than 25 years of broad IP and industry experience in the pharmaceutical industry as well as experience in other roles early in his career. For the past 11 years, Kellerman has worked at GlaxoSmithKline in the IP department in the US as well as in China. Prior to that he was the corporate intellectual property counsel for Sepracor Inc. Kellerman received his B.S. Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati, College of Pharmacy and his law degree from the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord, New Hampshire.

About Astellas
Astellas is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. For more information on Astellas, please visit our website at www.astellas.us. You can also follow us on Twitter at @AstellasUS.

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SOURCE Astellas