TOKYO, Jan. 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. ("Astellas," Tokyo: 4503) today announced that Eric Terhaerdt has been named senior vice president of Global Development Operations. Terhaerdt will be located at Astellas' Headquarters for the Americas in Northbrook, Ill., USA, and will report to Dr. Bernie Zeiher, executive vice president, Global Development and Therapeutic Area head: Immunology, Infectious Disease, Transplantation and Central Nervous System and Pain, with Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc.

Terhaerdt will be responsible for establishing the global direction of the drug development operations of Astellas in The Netherlands and the U.S. and will work closely with Japan Development Operations to ensure global operational effectiveness and efficiency.  As a key direct report to the executive vice president of Global Development, he will play an instrumental role in defining development strategy and ensuring the effective and efficient development of the Astellas product portfolio.

"Astellas couldn't be more pleased to have someone with the knowledge and breadth of experience that Eric has," said Dr. Zeiher. "His diverse international experience in drug development, strategic planning and change management will help Astellas continue to address the unmet needs of our patients."

Terhaerdt spent over 20 years with AstraZeneca, serving in a variety of global leadership roles with increasing responsibility, in the areas of Clinical Research, Clinical Development, Clinical Quality, Strategy and Performance and Scientific and Technical Evaluations. He holds a Bachelor of Science in kinesiology from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Warwick, U.K.

About Astellas Pharma Inc.
Astellas Pharma Inc., located in Tokyo, Japan, is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceuticals. Astellas has approximately 18,000 employees worldwide. The organization is committed to becoming a global category leader in Urology, Immunology (including Transplantation) and Infectious diseases, Oncology, Neuroscience and Diabetes Mellitus (DM) Complications and Kidney diseases. For more information on Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit the company website at www.astellas.com/en.

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SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.