Introduction of Astellas and WPA Partnership - Promoting Employee Engagement through Volunteerism - World Patients Alliance

-Who is Astellas?-

Astellas Pharma Inc.(Astellas)conducts its business activities based on our Raison D’être of “Contribute toward improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products”. Our main efforts to expand access to healthcare lie in discovering, developing and providing innovative healthcare solutions for patients.

-Our wishes for collaboration with the WPA-

Patient-centered care is a shared goal between Astellas and World Patients Alliance (WPA). A primary feature of the partnership is promoting patient engagement through volunteer opportunities for Astellas employees. The initial idea was to globalize the Astellas Access to Health team’s patient engagement (Star Light Partner Activities) component and find an appropriate international partner to elevate from Japan-focused patient engagement activities to the global level for all employees. World Patients Alliance was the best fit as it is the biggest patient umbrella organization in the world. Their focus aligns with Astellas on important issues such as Access to health, Patient centricity, and Advocacy for patient empowerment and safety.

-Astellas Global Changing Tomorrow Day-

After receiving employee feedback that there was a great desire for their volunteer work to directly impact patients, the Astellas Access to Health team collaborated with the Patient Centricity team to identify opportunities to expand the scope of the annual Astellas Global Changing Tomorrow Day campaign.

Employee volunteering is at the center of Global Changing Tomorrow Day, providing all Astellas employees the opportunity to volunteer their time and create local impact. Through the partnership with World Patients Alliance, Astellas can connect employees across Astellas to local volunteer events with patients for this year’s Global Changing Tomorrow Day campaign. Employee volunteers are connecting with patient organizations in their communities and serving patients directly through activities like cooking, cleaning, and gardening.

Each June, Patient Centricity Month is celebrated at Astellas. This company-wide event helps bring greater awareness and education to all employees, and with a focus on the foundation of patient centricity in their work. The 2024 Global Changing Tomorrow Day campaign with World Patients Alliance coincided with Patient Centricity Month to support greater patient engagement, patient advocacy and access to healthcare.

-Toward the future-

Astellas is proud to be a sponsor of World Patients Alliance’s 2nd annual World Patients Conference in October. This year’s conference will focus on patient engagement, safety, access to healthcare, and emerging trends in healthcare technology.

Further enhancing capability to secure patient safety and product quality, as well as optimizing customer interaction for maximizing VALUE for patients is one of the Astellas sustainable business priorities.

Working with World Patients Alliance provides a supportive partnership to continue creating positive impact around the world through Astellas’ talented and dedicated employees.