NORTHBROOK, Ill., April 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas today announced the appointment of Rodrigo Fernandez to Executive Director, International Business with responsibility for managing Astellas' business in Latin America outside of Brazil.  He is based at Astellas' headquarters for the Americas in Northbrook and reports to Percival Barretto-Ko, senior vice president, International Operations.

"With a population of more than 600 million people facing numerous unmet clinical needs, Latin America is a critical area for Astellas," said Barretto-Ko. "Rodrigo's deep experience in this region, approach to collaboration and impressive track record in commercial operations will serve Astellas well as we seek to turn innovative science into value for patients."

Fernandez brings more the 20 years of global pharmaceutical experience to Astellas. In his new role, he will be responsible for leading Astellas' business in more than 20 countries in Latin America including distributor and resource management, commercial excellence and the creation of new affiliates and licensing opportunities. Luiz Claudio Dutra will continue as Managing Director of Astellas Farma Brasil, reporting to Barretto-Ko.

Prior to Astellas, Fernandez led AstraZeneca's business as country president in Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador and Peru, including a broad network of distributors. Since 2004, Fernandez has also served in various roles of increasing responsibility at AstraZeneca, including country manager and marketing company president for Slovenia and the West Balkans and global and regional commercial lead for various therapeutic areas.

Fernandez holds a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Costa Rica and various executive certifications.

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, Facebook at www.facebook.com/AstellasUS or LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/astellas-pharma.

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SOURCE Astellas