Astellas Greater China Establishes Oncology Business Unit to Drive Launch of Xtandi and Future Oncology Portfolio

On the 17th, Astellas Greater China announced that it would restructure its organizational framework on the 1st of next month, along with corresponding personnel changes.

One significant announcement is the establishment of a dedicated Oncology Business Unit to ensure the successful launch of Anketan in China. This unit will focus exclusively on the oncology sector and will be responsible for the future promotion of multiple upcoming oncology products.

Rodney Long has been appointed as the head of the newly established Oncology Business Unit, which oversees three major sales regions and one Marketing Department. Zhao Yiyang serves as the head of the Marketing Department.

Xtandi (enzalutamide) is a new prostate cancer drug jointly developed and commercialized by Pfizer and Astellas Pharma. Astellas handles marketing in all markets outside the United States. On the 26th of last month, Astellas announced that its New Drug Application for Xtandi had been approved by China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). The approval is for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic and have not received chemotherapy, following failure of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT).

Additionally, Astellas announced the establishment of a Hospital/Specialty Therapeutic Area Business Unit, comprising six sales regions and two marketing departments, to maintain sales of existing products and assume responsibility for Astellas’ future non-oncology products.

In addition to the two business divisions mentioned above, Astellas has also established an independent Commercial Operations Headquarters, which undertakes functions such as SFE and commercial excellence.