Chicagoland gains major HQ

Okay, don't get too excited. Only about 75 new jobs will be created, and the the rest of the jobs were already here. But Deerfield is now the US Headquarters of a major worldwide pharmaceutical from Japan, previously HQ in New Jersey. Probably not a big deal, other than bragging rights: Japanese drugmakers strengthen area ties BRUCE JAPSEN Published March 31, 2005 Japanese drugmakers are keeping their roots firmly planted in the Chicago area. Effective Friday, Astellas Pharma U.S. Inc. will list the address of its U.S. headquarters as Deerfield, the longtime home of Fujisawa Healthcare Inc. The Astellas name replaces Fujisawa as a result of Fujisawa's recently completed merger with Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co. of Tokyo. Yamanouchi's U.S. headquarters had been in New Jersey but will now be in Deerfield. Under the Astellas name, the combined Fujisawa-Yamanouchi operation has annual worldwide sales of about $8 billion, putting the company among the top 20 drugmakers in the world. "As Astellas, we will build on nearly two centuries of collective experience to create a unique place in the U.S. pharmaceutical landscape, where true innovation is valued and rewarded," said Makoto Nishimura, chairman and chief executive of Astellas Pharma U.S. Inc. In Japan, Astellas is second only to Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., which has more than $10 billion in annual worldwide sales. Like Astellas, Takeda has its U.S. base here, with offices in suburban Lincolnshire under the name Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc. Takeda also owns half of Lake Forest-based TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc., with partner Abbott Laboratories. The United States has long been an important market for Japanese drugmakers, especially since there are no price controls in the U.S. as there are in their country, so selling drugs is more profitable here. Astellas' flagship product is Prograf, one of the nation's best-selling brand-name medicines, used to prevent liver and kidney transplant patients from rejecting their new organs. Prograf generated more than $500 million in U.S. sales last year for the former Fujisawa. "We believe that our long-term strategy for growing established franchise businesses will distinguish us as a company focused on developing breakthrough treatments rather than only blockbuster products," Nishimura said. In line with its decision to keep the larger company's offices here, Astellas is creating 75 new positions and retaining the 350 Fujisawa jobs that had already been in Deerfield. The firm gave some credit to the administration of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, which last year agreed to give a $500,000 grant and tax credits worth nearly $8 million to help keep the U.S. headquarters in Illinois. Bridge extends credit line: Bridge Healthcare Finance said it has extended a $7.5 million line of credit to the Neurologic & Orthopedic Institute of Chicago, a specialty surgical hospital located on Chicago's North Side. Chicago-based Bridge assists health-care companies with a variety of financial services. The institute plans to use the line of credit for "general working capital," a Bridge spokeswoman said. The institute opened in 2003 on the campus of the former Ravenswood Hospital as one of the area's first investor-owned specialty hospitals, dedicated primarily to brain, spine and orthopedic surgery.>