NORTHBROOK, Ill., Feb. 10, 2017 – Astellas is committed to changing tomorrow for the patients we serve, our employees and the communities in which we live and work. Astellas was recognized as one of 2017’s 50 Best Companies for Giving Back in the United States across all industries by consulting firm Great Place to Work® and Fortune magazine. Astellas ranked 25^th on the list.

“Astellas offers full-time employees up to five paid volunteer days to allow employees to build meaningful connections with community organizations,” said Jeff Winton, Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Chief Communications Officer. “Astellas employees are passionate about giving back. In 2016 alone, they donated more than 15,000 volunteer hours to help community organizations.”

Great Place to Work® analyzed surveys from nearly 600 companies to rank those that best create a culture of purpose and goodwill among their employees through involvement in the community. Not only do these workplaces stand out for their generosity, their team members also express a great deal of pride in what their organizations accomplish.

The Best Workplaces for Giving Back took feedback from about 240,000 employees into consideration as well as their companies’ volunteer programs and charitable giving relative to revenue. The Trust Index, Great Place to Work®’s employee assessment survey allowed employees to rate the sense that they make a difference in their jobs, the meaningfulness of their work and the impact they feel their organizations make in the community.

"It goes deeper than donating to nonprofits or serving on their boards,” said Jonathan Becker, a workplace culture expert and partner at Great Place to Work. “Community involvement is moving closer to the core of what the company does. These organizations are searching for ways to build on their teams’ skills and connect them to worthy endeavors that resonate with what they do at work.”

The Best Workplaces for Giving Back is one of a series of rankings by Great Place to Work and Fortune based on employee feedback from Great Place to Work-certified organizations

About Great Place to Work®
Great Place to Work® is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work® provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognize outstanding workplace cultures. In the United States, Great Place to Work® produces the annual Fortune "100 Best Companies to Work For®" and a series of Great Place to Work® Best Workplaces lists, including lists for Millennials, Women, Diversity, Small and Medium Companies and over a half dozen different industries. In 2016, Astellas Farma Brazil and Astellas Pharma Canada were named to the Great Place to Work lists in their respective regions by Great Place to Work®. Follow Great Place to Work® online at www.greatplacetowork.com and on Twitter at @GPTW_US.

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.