Mumbai, April 12, 2010 - Astellas Pharma Inc. (headquarters: Tokyo, president and CEO: Masafumi Nogimori, “Astellas”) today announced that it’s subsidiary Astellas Pharma India Private Limited (headquarters: Mumbai, managing director :Teruo Yasufuku “Astellas India”) introduced its first flagship product, immunosuppressant Prograf® (generic name: tacrolimus) in the Indian market on 30th March, 2010.
Prograf is prescribed to prevent organ rejection in patients receiving allogenic liver, kidney, or heart transplants and was first approved and launched in Japan in 1993.
Prograf is available in more than 80 countries and the global leader among immunosuppressant.
Mr. Teruo Yasufuku, Managing Director, Astellas India said, “Our thrust in India is to improve the well being of patients by providing innovative, reliable products and the introduction of Prograf is a step in this direction. Having been rated as the Japan’s number two ethical pharmaceutical company (2008), we are confident our products will create their own niche in the Indian market.”
“To tap the 1.6 billion rupees immunosuppressant market in India, Prograf will be promoted in Kidney, Liver, Heart transplants & marketed in more than 150 hospitals where transplantation facilities are available,” said Mr. Himanshu Dave, Director-Sales & Marketing, Astellas India.
Mr. Dave further stated, “In India, kidney transplants constitute 90 percent of the total transplantation, while liver transplants account for the remaining 10 percent. According to our compiled data, we estimate that around 4,000 - 4,200 kidney transplants, 350-400 liver transplants & very few heart transplants are done every year.”
About Astellas
Astellas Pharma Inc. located in Tokyo, Japan, is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceuticals. Astellas has approximately 15,000 employees worldwide. The organization is committed to becoming a global category leader in urology, immunology & infectious diseases, neuroscience, DM complications & metabolic diseases and oncology. For more information on Astellas Pharma Inc., please visit our website at http://www.astellas.com/en.
