Astellas Pharma Inc. announced that its US holding company, Astellas US Holding, Inc., has transferred its wholly owned manufacturing subsidiary Astellas Pharma Technologies, Inc. to Avara Norman Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Astellas Pharma Technologies, Inc. will be renamed Avara Pharmaceutical Technologies, Inc.

"We sincerely thank the Astellas Pharma Technologies employees in Norman for their dedication over many years of service. In addition, I am very grateful for the way they have kept our operation running smoothly through the last months of uncertainty as we searched for the right buyer -- and we wish them the best as they transition to Avara," said Mitsunori Matsuda, president of Technology at Astellas. "We have confidence that Avara is the right company to oversee the continuing supply of the Astellas products that are made at the facility, as well as the fulfillment of capacity use at and capabilities of the facility. We look forward to working with Avara as the new owner of the facility to ensure the continuous supply of our products for the patients who need them."

Astellas is engaged in ongoing efforts to create organizations and systems that can flexibly respond to rapidly changing environments and work toward higher quality and efficiency of operations. In the areas of manufacturing and technology, Astellas strives to promote the establishment of a stable manufacturing system that will efficiently realize the steady supply of high-quality drugs through the effective use of external resources and the strengthening of Astellas' own internal functions. As a part of these efforts, Astellas has transferred APT, which owns the plant used for the formulation and packaging of certain Astellas pharmaceutical products, to Avara.

Under the terms of the transaction, APT employees will remain employed at the site, and the plant will continue to manufacture certain Astellas products on a contract basis.

Astellas expects to continue to source a stable supply of high-quality products from the facility under the oversight of Avara.

Deloitte Corporate Finance served as financial advisor to Astellas in connection with the transaction.