Astellas Pharma US and Astellas Global Health Foundation COVID-19 Pandemic Response

NORTHBROOK, Ill., April 2, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Astellas Pharma US, ("Astellas") and the Astellas Global Health Foundation are each expanding support for global and local communities fighting COVID-19 by providing up to $2 million of new financial assistance, in aggregate, to meet the urgent demand for resources to help patients, healthcare workers and first responders.

At a national level in the United States, Astellas is preparing to help humanitarian organizations working to support the community due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This includes Astellas corporate donations to Americares, the American Red Cross, and Direct Relief to help their emergency efforts. The company also is coordinating opportunities to mobilize equipment, PPE (personal protective equipment) donations, blood donations in alignment with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance, employee contributions and volunteerism to meet the critical demand for time and resources where needs are most pressing.

To assist healthcare systems coping with increasing demands presented by the escalation of COVID-19 around the world, Astellas will provide paid time off to full-time Astellas employees who are medically qualified practitioners, medically qualified volunteers or individuals seeking to support organizations looking in their local communities.

Locally at Astellas' US-headquarters in Illinois, Astellas is partnering with multiple state organizations with their response to COVID-19, as a Founding Partner to the Governor's Illinois COVID-19 Response Fund and the Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization (iBIO) COVID-19 PPE Relief Fund.

Globally, the Astellas Global Health Foundation will open a Request for Proposal in April to enable emergency funding to select additional national and global humanitarian organizations who are working tirelessly to fight COVID-19 in countries where Astellas does not have a commercial presence. These efforts align with the Foundation's standard operating procedures and policies.

SOURCE Astellas