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JPM 2026: Pioneering Science to Change Tomorrow
Astellas researchers working together in a modern laboratory, focused on innovation and clinical development.

The healthcare industry stands at a crossroads. Scientific complexity is rising, operational and financial pressures are intensifying, and AI is changing everything.

Against this backdrop, Astellas will be attending the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference 2026 with the goal of both sharing and learning. We look forward to discussing recent pipeline and commercial achievements, as well as how we have strengthened our operating model to sustain long-term growth. At the same time, we are excited to meet, learn from, and collaborate with the many leading innovators and investors who will be gathered in San Francisco for JPM 2026 and other events, including Biotech Showcase.

“Astellas is committed to creating and delivering VALUE for patients around the world. We’ve made strong progress and have exciting opportunities on the horizon,” says President and CEO Naoki Okamura. “Our job is to turn this momentum into long-term, sustainable impact for patients, for investors, and for our company.”

At JPM 2026, we will highlight our key strategic focuses and progress to date – specifically the growth of our Strategic Brands, progress in our pipeline, a cost structure built for resilience, and biotech and pharma partnerships that will enhance our science and ability to deliver meaningful outcomes for patients.

Delivering transformative therapies to patients faster

Astellas believes that science has the potential to change everything for patients. We know that drug discovery is challenging – biology is complex, targets are harder to reach, and patients continue to wait for new modalities that can break through where standard approaches have stalled. Rather than being deterred by this, we are inspired to ask what if? and where next? to find the answers patients urgently need. 

Driven by a deep understanding of disease biology and unmet medical needs, we are expanding into new targets, leveraging cutting-edge modalities and precision approaches in underserved and difficult-to-treat diseases. We aim to deliver transformative medicines to patients, faster, by pioneering science in breakthrough areas of R&D: Immuno-Oncology, Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD), Genetic Regulation, and Blindness & Regeneration.

Developed in-house, ASP3082 has the potential to be the first approved targeted protein degrader for solid tumors with a KRAS G12D mutation. Data presented thus far demonstrate antitumor activity in both pancreatic and NSCLC, two notoriously difficult tumor types, paving the way for a new treatment option in these patient populations.

Scientific model illustrates Astellas’ Targeted Protein Degradation (TPD) capabilities.

“As we look across oncology, Targeted Protein Degradation represents an area of innovation where we believe we can help reshape expectations for some of the hardest-to-treat diseases, as it has the potential to unlock so-called ‘undruggable’ disease targets. Early data on ASP3082 gives us confidence to move rapidly forward,” Okamura says.

Building on the expertise developed with our first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2), a protein highly expressed in multiple tumors, we are advancing ASP2138, a bispecific T-cell engager targeting CLDN18.2. Early data demonstrate antitumor activity in CLDN18.2-positive tumors, including gastric cancer, and if approved, it could be the first subcutaneously delivered T-cell engager for solid tumors.

ASP2138 and ASP3082 are just two examples of how Astellas is pioneering science to change tomorrow for patients. With a long-term R&D mindset and end-to-end capabilities from early discovery to development, manufacturing, and commercialization, we are powered to deliver the next generation of medicines—and the generation after that.

Naoki Okamura, President and CEO of Astellas.

Optimizing costs to support growth

Like many other companies, Astellas has faced operational pressures. The rising cost of innovation is colliding with global pricing headwinds and patent expirations. We see this not just as a financial concern but also a strategic one. How does a global life sciences company fund the next wave of breakthrough therapies while building resilience for our future?

Our answer is Sustainable Margin Transformation (SMT), a multi-year cost optimization effort, launched in 2024 to enable reinvestment and strengthen long-term operating performance. In 2025, we had measurable impact, with SG&A ratio declining by more than three percentage points year-over-year and core operating profit rising sharply.

More importantly, this effort is driving structural improvements—insourcing critical capabilities, accelerating clinical operations and creating efficiencies that help shorten timelines from discovery to patient benefit. As Okamura notes, “Cost optimization is beginning to show its full impact. This is how we create the resources to invest in the pipeline while building a stronger, leaner organization.”

This disciplined approach not only funds pipeline innovation but also strengthens performance of our commercial portfolio. Our Strategic Brands continue to deliver record-high growth and we’re reaching new patients every day as new regulatory approvals are secured around the world. By reinvesting with purpose, Astellas is better positioned to advance high-value therapies into new indications and geographies while staying agile in a complex global landscape.

Investing in strategic partnerships to fuel our research

This balance of scientific ambition and financial discipline shapes how we are engaging with partners across the innovation ecosystem. As science increases in complexity and new modalities require capabilities that no single company can build alone—from antibody drug conjugate (ADC) technologies to adeno-associated virus (AAV) delivery to robotics-enabled manufacturing—collaboration is essential.

Our global innovation network brings together external expertise that complements our in-house strengths, with many assets in our pipeline originating from these strategic partnerships:

>Evopoint: our collaboration is designed to advance ASP546C/XNW27011, an investigational CLDN18.2-targeted ADC now in clinical development.

>Sangamo and AviadoBio: these partnerships deepen our gene therapy capabilities. The collaboration with Sangamo offers access to an engineered capsid capable of bypassing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), allowing for convenient intravenous (IV) delivery of promising AAV-based therapies to help treat certain neurological diseases. With Aviado, the strategic partnership is for AVB-101, an investigational AAV-based therapy in Phase 1/2 development for patients with frontotemporal dementia with progranulin mutations.

>Yaskawa Electric: we established a joint venture, Cellafa Bioscience, to help pioneer robotics-based cell therapy manufacturing addressing industry-wide challenges in reproducibility, cost, and scalability.

“Partnerships allow us to move faster and take smarter risks,” Okamura says. “They strengthen our science and help us advance research that may deliver meaningful value to patients worldwide.”

Looking ahead to Astellas’ future

As we enter 2026 and our third decade as a company, we have a strong foundation – including a focused pipeline, a disciplined cost structure that is fueling reinvestment, and biotech and pharma partnerships designed to expand what our science can achieve. The result is a growth story that bridges near-term performance with long-term ambition.

“We’re delivering on our commitments today while building a foundation for sustainable growth tomorrow,” Okamura says. “Our future is rooted in science, powered by discipline, and defined by our commitment to patients.”

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This article aims to introduce the content of Astellas’ presentation at JPM2026. In addition, the information contained in this article regarding pharmaceuticals (including those under development) is not intended for promotional purposes or as medical advice. Information about compounds under development does not imply established safety or efficacy, nor does it guarantee that such compounds will receive approval or be marketed for the intended use under development.