DEERFIELD, Ill., May 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc. ("APGD"), a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc. based in Tokyo, Japan, welcomes four seasoned industry leaders to its team. New additions include Stephen Eck, M.D., Ph.D. as vice president, head of medical oncology, Karen Reeves, M.D. as vice president, global head of medical science, Mark Weinberg, M.D., MBA as therapeutic area head for central nervous system (CNS) and pain and Bernhardt Zeiher, M.D. as vice president, therapeutic area leader of inflammation, immunology and infectious diseases.

"We are proud to have these outstanding professionals on the Astellas team," said Dr. Steven Ryder, president of APGD. "Their shared experience will add tremendous value to the company and will help accelerate APGD's goal of introducing innovative and valuable new medical treatments."

Below are short career descriptions of each recent hire.  

Stephen Eck, M.D., Ph.D., vice president, head of medical oncology, has more than 28 years of experience focused primarily in oncology research. Stephen was most recently the vice president of translational medicine & pharmacogenomics at Eli Lilly & Company. He is a graduate of Harvard University (Ph.D. Chemistry)  and the University of Mississippi School of Medicine. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in pharmacology.

Karen Reeves, M.D., vice president, global head of medical science, has more than 16 years of experience in Phase 1 - 4 drug development working across multiple therapeutic areas, including neuroscience, oncology, and infectious diseases, and was a former vice president at Pfizer Inc. Karen earned her undergraduate degree from Yale University and her medical degree from University of Vermont Medical School.  

Mark Weinberg, M.D., MBA, therapeutic area head for CNS and pain, has more than 12 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, working across multiple therapeutic areas.  He was most recently at Lundbeck where he focused on CNS.  Mark received his undergraduate degree from Yale University, his medical degree from Duke University and a MBA from the Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University.

Bernhardt Zeiher, M.D., vice president, therapeutic area leader of inflammation, immunology and infectious diseases, has more than 13 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and most recently came from Pfizer Inc. where he was the vice president of the inflammation/immunology therapeutic area. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Toledo and his medical degree at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

About Astellas Pharma Global Development

Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc., located in Deerfield, Illinois, is a member of the Astellas group of companies. Astellas 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 category leader in focused areas by combining outstanding R&D and marketing capabilities. For more information about Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit the website at www.astellas.com/en/.