After setting up operations in Chile in 2023, the pharmaceutical company is already marketing a product for treating leukemia. They are looking to expand their portfolio and aspire to work with the public sector.
The multinational Astellas Pharma set up operations in Chile in February 2023. The pharmaceutical company is present in 70 countries, and its Latin American operations already include Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.
In early September, Leon Moore, Astellas’ President of International Markets, visited the fledgling operations in Chile. Moore leads the area that oversees the company’s business in Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Asia-Pacific (Australia, India and Southeast Asia), Turkey and the Middle East in Africa, as well as Latin America.
During his visit, Moore spoke with DF and shared that the company’s first 18 months in Chile have focused on laying the foundations for the growth they aspire to attain.
«We have launched a new drug for treating patients who are very sick with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We are trying to help them get a transplant,»recapped Moore. «Whenever a new operation is established, it is an exciting time for us. So we are pleased so far.»
General Manager for the Southern Cone Samuel Mantilha, a Brazilian, added that, despite some difficulties currently facing private healthcare, Astellas is already seeing great opportunities to gain a foothold in Chile. So far, they have an eight-person team but hope to grow to 25 by next year.
Cutting-edge science
Moore explained that Astellas focuses on what is known as cutting-edge science, i.e., developing drugs to treat diseases for which effective treatments have not yet been developed.
Thus, the company has already begun locally distributing the product to treat leukemia and expects to expand its portfolio in Chile soon.
For example, they are discussing bringing in a new medicine for treating gastric cancer. In women’s health, they plan to launch a product to treat menopause symptoms, particularly hot flashes. In ophthalmology, they are looking at a medicine for “geographic atrophy,» a disease that can severly impair vision.
«The next step for us is to actually plan the introduction of these drugs, which involves going through the regulatory authorities and all the required steps. Samuel (Mantilha) and his team are working on that. We hope to bring these innovations to Chile in the next three or four years,» said Moore.
Mantilha added, «Chile has the highest incidence of gastric cancer, so our products serve the health system’s needs.»
Local health
Why enter the Chilean market? «The country has a sound economy, strong institutional rules and a very effective legal system, making it a very stable country for operations. We want to bring more of these innovations to Chile to treat complicated diseases. To do so, we need to access the healthcare system’s different channels,» said Moore.
In other words, though the company already does business with private providers, the great challenge for its future in Chile is to gain a foothold in the public system, which handles the largest volumes. «We aspire to get all our medicines to the Chilean population and, obviously, in a way that allows us to have a sustainable business because that enables us to reinvest in research and development (R&D),» Moore elaborated.
He noted, «Since it is a public system, there are more restrictions for getting into it. There are different expectations in terms of drug prices and other things. So we have to work with physicians and other stakeholders to demonstrate the value of our medicines.»
In terms of Astellas’ future projects as a pharmaceutical company, Moore commented, «In the next few years, as our product portfolio continues to develop, we will go into what we call ‘rare diseases’ or gene therapy. We are developing in that area as well.»
«Chile is a very stable place to operate. We want to bring more innovations that treat complicated diseases to the country. To do so, we need access to the healthcare system’s different channels.»
Source: Diario Financiero.
%2017.11.51.png)
