TOKYO, April 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Inc. ("Astellas"; Tokyo: 4503) today announced that Songlin Xue, M.D., Ph.D. has been named head of Global Pharmacovigilance (GPV). Dr. Xue will be located at Astellas' Headquarters for the Americas in Northbrook, Illinois, USA and will report to Sef Kurstjens, M.D., Ph.D., newly named Chief Medical Officer at Astellas. In April 2013, Astellas established the Chief Medical Officer position in order to further integrate and enhance Astellas' delivery of global medical solutions.

Astellas President and CEO Yoshihiko Hatanaka said, "I am pleased that Dr. Xue will be joining us at Astellas as head of Global Pharmacovigilance. Dr. Xue's knowledge and experience will help the company pursue its operational excellence and further enhance our global PV and product compliance capabilities."

With Dr. Xue's appointment, Astellas has now completed the hiring of global heads in the areas of PV, Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, Clinical and Research Quality Assurance, and Quality Assurance.

During his more than twenty years in the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Xue has held increasingly senior roles with global responsibilities in drug safety and pharmacoepidemiology.  Most recently, Dr. Xue held the position of Senior Vice President, Head Global Pharmacovigilance at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Prior to joining Takeda, Dr. Xue held posts with global pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis and Wyeth. 

Dr. Xue received his medical degree from Shanxi Medical College in Shanxi China.  Subsequently, he received a Masters of Science (clinical epidemiology) degree from Hunan University of Medical Science, Hunan, China, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree (Ph.D.) in epidemiology from the University of Minnesota. 

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 17,000 employees worldwide. The organization is committed to becoming a global category leader in Urology, Immunology (including Transplantation) and Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Neuroscience and DM Complications and Kidney Diseases. For more information on Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit the company website at www.astellas.com/en.  

SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.