Astellas Korea's Seonhee Lee appointed GM of Astellas Egypt

First Korean in the Korean pharmaceutical industry to be appointed as the GM of the Middle East subsidiary

Astellas actively fosters talents based on diversity and global career opportunities

Seonhee Lee, Commercial Excellence & Market Access Head at Astellas Pharma

Astellas Korea announced on July 21 that the company has appointed Seonhee Lee, currently a Commercial Excellence & Market Access Head at Astellas Pharma, as the new General Manager of Astellas Egypt, effective from August 1..

 

Lee has 23 years of experience working in major pharmaceutical companies in South Korea and overseas and is a healthcare expert.

 

She will be the first from the Korean pharmaceutical industry to step up as the GM of Astellas in the Middle East region.

 

The current appointment is regarded as Astellas' strategy to seek and foster talents based on diversity and global career opportunities.

 

Lee, who joined Astellas Korea in March 2024, has been leading the Commercial Excellence team and achieved various successes, including establishing the strategy, strengthening capacity, and advancing omnichannel marketing.

 

After that, she expanded her leadership to the Market Access area, carefully establishing and conducting an insurance reimbursement listing strategy for anticancer agents.

 

Lee has significantly contributed to increasing the likelihood of the market entry for Astellas' core pipeline products.

 

Previously, Lee served in the key leadership positions, including Business Unit Head, Market Access, and global market, in various divisions such as vaccine, chronic diseases, specialty, and anticancer agents, while working at MSD Korea, Merck Serono, and JW Pharmaceutical.

 

Astellas recently established its T-MEA (Turkey, Middle East, and Africa) Headquarters in Istanbul, integrating these regions, and is operating to address unmet medical needs in the area.

 

Astellas Egypt was established in 2022 and is actively involved in various therapeutic areas, aiming to expand local treatment options in Egypt, a key country in the T-MEA region.

 

Junil Kim, Head of Astellas Pharma Korea, stated, "Lee's advancement to the global branch is a significant outcome as it symbolizes the recognition of talent of Astellas Pharma Korea globally." Kim added, "Egypt is a major hub in the Middle East and Africa, a region with significant unmet medical needs, so we expect Lee to achieve meaningful results based on her experience and leadership." Meanwhile, Astellas Pharma Korea has been consistently recognized for its capabilities on the global stage, with a series of promotions and appointments of its executives and employees to overseas branches and new positions since last year.

 

Last year, Sumi Moon, Oncology Brand Lead, moved to the Astellas International Region, and Kyungah Park, Medical Affairs Department Lead, was reassigned to the International Region and the China Medical Affairs Department.