Astellas has made a series of new hires and appointments in its International Business, clinical, ethics and legal, and corporate departments.

RodrigoFernandez(POM) Photo: R. Fernandez

Rodrigo Fernandez has been made executive director, International Business, with responsibility for managing Astellas’ business in Latin America outside of Brazil. Joseph Fleishaker, Ph.D., has been named VP, Clinical Pharmacology and Exploratory Development. Appointments in the company’s Ethics and Compliance and US Legal departments include Mark Wanda, Nahrin Marino, and Matt Silversten. Additionally, Bob Chib and Cassie Hogenkamp were named to key leadership roles with Astellas’ corporate development function.

Fernandez will be based at Astellas’ headquarters for the Americas in Northbrook and reports to Percival Barretto-Ko, senior VP, International Operations.

“With a population of more than 600 million people facing numerous unmet clinical needs, Latin America is a critical area for Astellas,” Barretto-Ko says. “Rodrigo’s deep experience in this region, approach to collaboration and impressive track record in commercial operations will serve Astellas well as we seek to turn innovative science into value for patients.”

Fernandez brings more the 20 years of global pharmaceutical experience to Astellas. In his new role, he will be responsible for leading Astellas’ business in more than 20 countries in Latin America including distributor and resource management, commercial excellence, and the creation of new affiliates and licensing opportunities. Luiz Claudio Dutra will continue as managing director of Astellas Farma Brasil, reporting to Barretto-Ko.

Before joining Astellas, Fernandez led AstraZeneca’s business as country president in Central America, the Caribbean, Ecuador, and Peru, including a broad network of distributors. Since 2004, Fernandez served in various roles of increasing responsibility at AstraZeneca, including country manager and marketing company president for Slovenia and the West Balkans and global and regional commercial lead for various therapeutic areas. He holds a degree in pharmacy from the University of Costa Rica and various executive certifications.

JosephFleishaker(POM) Photo: J. Fleishaker

Dr. Fleishaker will be located at Astellas’ global headquarters for the Medical and Development organization in Northbrook, Ill., and will report to Dr. Bernie Zeiher, president, Development.

Dr. Fleishaker will oversee the Clinical Pharmacology and Exploratory Development function which includes all clinical pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, modeling and simulation support for early as well as late-stage development programs. Executives say that as a member of the Development Leadership Team, he will play an instrumental role in leading this functional area to fully characterize clinical candidates to bring new innovations to patients.

Since joining Astellas in 2012, Dr. Fleishaker has made significant contributions to the growing and evolving neuroscience portfolio. Most recently at Astellas, he served as VP and global therapeutic head of Neuroscience and previously held the role of executive director and project lead of Development, leading the CNS/Pain therapeutic area.

“Joe brings a wealth of experience to this important position at Astellas, including more than 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry leading clinical pharmacology and translational medicine research as well as a preclinical drug metabolism group,” Zeiher says. “We are pleased Joe has accepted this role to help our organization continue to advance our capabilities in clinical pharmacology.”

Fleishaker received his B.S. from the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy in Pittsburgh and his Ph.D. in pharmaceutical science with a major area of concentration in pharmacokinetics/biopharmaceutics from the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy in Lexington.  

MarkWanda(POM) Photo: M. Wanda

Wanda joined the Ethics and Compliance organization in the role of executive director, anti-bribery and anti-corruption, where he oversees global anti-bribery and anti-corruption compliance programs for Astellas. Wanda has been with Astellas since 2013, initially as deputy general counsel and most recently as head of the Astellas U.S. legal regulatory team. In his new role, Wanda reports to Catherine Wertjes, senior VP, Ethics and Compliance.

“Working with the highest sense of integrity and ethics is a cornerstone of our business,” Wertjes says. “We have the utmost confidence that Mark’s skills and experience will enable us to continue to further Astellas’ standard for global compliance.”

NahrinMarino(POM) Photo: N. Marino

Marino was promoted to deputy general counsel, and succeeds Wanda as head of Astellas U.S. legal regulatory. Marino will continue to serve as director of investigations. Marino joined Astellas in 2010 as senior corporate counsel, specializing in regulatory law. She most recently served as associate general counsel, focused on regulatory, life cycle management, drug quality, and manufacturing. In her new role, Marino will report to Catherine Levitt, VP, Legal.

MatthewSilversten Photo: M. Silversten

Silversten was promoted to deputy general counsel, and is the new head of the Astellas US Legal department’s litigation and risk management team. Silversten joined Astellas in 2011 as senior counsel litigation. He most recently served as associate general counsel, where he was responsible for litigation and dispute resolution. In his new role, Silversten will also report to Levitt.

“Nahrin and Matt have been instrumental to the growth of our Legal department in the Americas region over the past five years,” Levitt says. “Their collective experience enhances Astellas’ response to diverse legal issues.”

Astellas named Chib and Hogenkamp to key leadership roles within its Corporate Development function to advance the strategic capabilities of Astellas’ Americas operations and further strengthen the company’s focus on patient needs. Corporate Development also spearheads Astellas’ corporate planning and regional alliance management and licensing activities.

BobChib(POM) Photo: B. Chib

Chib serves as executive director, corporate strategy, planning and initiative management and delivery. He and his team will support Astellas Americas President Jim Robinson and the Astellas Americas Management Committee in the planning and execution of corporate strategy. He formerly led Astellas’ Strategic Accounts Business Unit. Chib joined Astellas in 2004 as associate director, urology and primary care marketing. Before Astellas, he served as senior group marketing manager at TAP Pharmaceuticals. He will report to Yoko Saiki, VP, Corporate Development.

CassieHogenkamp(POM) Photo: C. Hogenkamp

Hogenkamp will continue to serve as executive director, commercial strategy and innovation, where she remains focused on leading commercial strategic activities for the Americas, including launch excellence, brand planning, and loss of exclusivity analyses. Previously part of the Astellas Pharma US Sales and Marketing organization, Hogenkamp and her team will now join Corporate Development. Hogenkamp joined Yamanouchi – which merged with Fujisawa to become Astellas in 2005 – in 2003 as director, business intelligence. Prior to Yamanouchi, she served as marketing director, cardiovascular therapeutics, at DuPont. Hogenkamp reports to Saiki.

“The changes in Astellas’ Corporate Development organization will help achieve alignment and consistency of strategy across the Americas and globally,” Saiki says. “I’m confident that Bob and Cassie, and their respective teams, will make an immediate impact on how we operate cohesively as an organization, and ultimately, how we serve patients.”