Astellas denies disbanding U.S. business development team

Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo:4503) denied rumors that it has disbanded its U.S. business development team in the wake of its announcement last month that it is centralizing its global corporate and business development operations in Japan.

Spokesperson Moyra Knight said regional corporate development offices in the Americas, including the U.S. office, will continue to manage local partnerships and will house some employees who had been working in business development before the changes. She declined to disclose the changes in head count as a result of the reorganization. ...