TOKYO -- Drugmaker Astellas Pharma will shut down its biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in California within fiscal year 2024 amid pressure to restructure operations and lower drug prices. About 100 employees are expected to be laid off or transferred.
Astellas Gene Therapies, formerly Audentes Therapeutics, will close its manufacturing facility for gene therapy drugs. Astellas acquired Audentes in January 2020 for about $3 billion with hopes of developing a large-scale gene therapy drug. The development was suspended, however, following a fatality during a clinical trial.
