Astellas restructuring R&D

Astellas Pharma Inc. (Tokyo:4503) said it will close its OSI Pharmaceuticals LLC and Perseid Therapeutics LLC units and scale back its Astellas Research Institute of America LLC unit to focus on CNS therapies as part of an R&D restructuring announced Tuesday. The company expects to reduce headcount by about 200 in the restructuring. An Astellas spokesperson said the pharma has 3,000 employees in the U.S., but declined to specify whether that includes the 200 positions being eliminated. Astellas said the closures of OSI and Perseid will come during its FY13, which ends March 31, 2014, and that projects from the facilities will be moved elsewhere.

Astellas also said it will "enhance the process of screening external opportunities" during the preclinical stage by creating a new unit -- Astellas Innovation Management (AIM) -- to integrate the activities of multiple departments, including Astellas Venture Management. The pharma said the new unit would "make continued use of its strengths in AVM, while drawing more widely and systematically on innovation opportunities" in biotech and academia. ...