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Astellas enters voluntary agreement with U.S. government supporting affordable access to medicines
PR Newswire
TOKYO, Aug. 31, 2026
– Agreement supports commitment to patient access, affordability and innovation –
TOKYO, Aug. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura, “Astellas”) today announced that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. government that reflects our commitment to patient access, affordability and innovation, while reinforcing Astellas’ longstanding commitment to the U.S. healthcare system.
Under the agreement, Astellas will take the following actions:
- Lower the prices of medicines in Medicaid and establish pricing for future medicines aligned with other developed nations that reflect international market conditions, innovation, and patient value.
- Further the resilience of the supply chain for important medicines by donating 25 kg of tacrolimus active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), the standard used to prevent solid organ transplant rejection, to the U.S. Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve (SAPIR).
Additional terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.
This agreement reflects our longstanding commitment to improving access for patients while continuing to invest in the research and development of innovative medicines. We believe patients benefit most when affordability and innovation advance together, and we remain committed to working collaboratively with governments and healthcare stakeholders around the world to achieve both objectives for patients with serious unmet medical needs.
With U.S. headquarters in Northbrook, Ill., Astellas has a significant research, manufacturing, and economic footprint in the U.S. that supports patients, jobs and communities spanning from Massachusetts to California. Within the past ten years, Astellas has opened two new cutting-edge manufacturing facilities in the U.S., including a cell therapy manufacturing facility in Westborough, Mass., and a gene therapy manufacturing facility in Sanford, North Carolina. In 2024, Astellas also opened two new research centers – our West Coast Innovation Center in South San Francisco and the Astellas Life Sciences Center in Cambridge, Mass.
About Astellas
Astellas is a global life sciences company committed to turning innovative science into VALUE for patients. We provide transformative therapies in disease areas that include oncology, ophthalmology, urology, immunology and women’s health. Through our research and development programs, we are pioneering new healthcare solutions for diseases with high unmet medical need. Learn more at www.astellas.com.
Cautionary Notes
In this press release, statements made with respect to current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management’s current assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively, (v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas’ intellectual property rights by third parties. Information about pharmaceutical products (including products currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.
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SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.
