TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Astellas Pharma Inc. (“Astellas”) today commented on CV Therapeutics, Inc’s. (Nasdaq: CVTX) announcement that its Board of Directors has rejected Astellas’ proposal to acquire CV Therapeutics for $16 per share in cash. The Astellas proposal represents a premium of 41% to CV Therapeutics’ closing price on January 26, 2009, the last day of trading before the proposal was made public, and a 69% premium to CV Therapeutics’ 60-day average closing price prior to the public disclosure of the offer.

“We are disappointed that CV Therapeutics’ Board has rejected our all cash proposal and did not engage us in any discussions as part of their review of our proposal. We continue to believe that our proposal provides CV Therapeutics’ stockholders excellent immediate value that exceeds what the company could reasonably expect to deliver through their standalone strategy. We remain committed to a transaction with CV Therapeutics, and while our desire continues to be to work together to negotiate a mutually agreeable transaction, we are considering all the options that are available to us to move our offer forward.”

For further information regarding Astellas’ offer for CV Therapeutics, please visit: www.cvtxvalue.com.

About Astellas

Astellas Pharma Inc., with global headquarters in Tokyo and US headquarters in Deerfield, Illinois, is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. The organization is committed to becoming a global pharmaceutical company by combining outstanding R&D and marketing capabilities and continuing to grow in the world pharmaceutical market.

Astellas was formed by the historical merger of Japan's third and fifth largest pharmaceutical companies - Yamanouchi, founded in 1923, and Fujisawa, founded in 1894. Today, Astellas is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Japan with a market capitalization of approximately $17.7 billion as of January 26, 2009, and, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008, net income of approximately $1.8 billion.

The company has approximately 14,000 employees worldwide. This includes 7,500 in Japan, 3,300 in Europe, 2,200 in North America and 1,000 in Asia. Some of Astellas’ core products in the US are: Lexiscan® (regadenoson) and Adenoscan® (adenosine injection), pharmacologic stress agents indicated for radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging/scintigraphy (MPI/S) in patients unable to undergo adequate exercise stress; Prograf® (tacrolimus), an immunosuppressant indicated for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in patients receiving organ transplants; and VESIcare® (solifenacin succinate), indicated for the treatment of overactive bladder with symptoms of urgency, frequency, and urge incontinence.

Astellas is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. For more information about Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit www.astellas.com. For more information about Astellas Pharma US, Inc., please visit http://www.us.astellas.com/.

This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell securities of CV Therapeutics. Subject to future developments, additional documents regarding a transaction with CV Therapeutics may be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) and, if and when available, would be accessible for free at the Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Investors and security holders are urged to read such disclosure documents, if and when they become available, because they will contain important information.

Astellas is not currently engaged in a solicitation of proxies or consents from the stockholders of CV Therapeutics. However, in connection with Astellas’ proposal to acquire CV Therapeutics, certain directors and officers of Astellas may participate in meetings or discussions with CV Therapeutics stockholders. Astellas does not believe that any of these persons is a “participant” as defined in Schedule 14A promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), in the solicitation of proxies or consents, or that Schedule 14A requires the disclosure of certain information concerning any of them. If in the future Astellas does engage in a solicitation of proxies or consents from the stockholders of CV Therapeutics in connection with its proposal to acquire CV Therapeutics, Astellas will amend the information provided above to disclose the information concerning participants in that solicitation required by Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act.

No assurance can be given that the proposed transaction described herein will be consummated by Astellas, or completed on the terms proposed or any particular schedule, that the proposed transaction will not incur delays in obtaining the regulatory, board or stockholder approvals required for a transaction, or that Astellas will realize the anticipated benefits of any proposed transaction.

Any information regarding CV Therapeutics contained herein has been taken from, or is based upon, publicly available information. Although Astellas does not have any information that would indicate that any information contained herein is inaccurate or incomplete, Astellas does not undertake any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information.

Astellas does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above.