[Introduction of "Access to Health" Initiatives for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)～R&D of NTD Medicines～]

Astellas regards the situation where there still remain barriers for many people who have difficulty accessing the healthcare they need due to the lack of available treatments, poverty, healthcare system challenges and insufficient healthcare information. Astellas recognizes this problem as the Access to Health issue. To improve Access to Health, Astellas has identified four areas where we can leverage our strengths and technologies, and is working to solve issues, making full use of external partnerships. These areas are "creating innovation", "enhancing availability", "strengthening healthcare system" and "improving health literacy". In March 2018, Astellas participated in the Neglected Tropical Diseases Drug Discovery Booster, a consortium whose purpose is to identify lead compounds for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease, both of which are neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). Moreover, within the pediatric praziquantel consortium, involving pharmaceutical companies, research institutions and international non-profit organizations, Astellas has developed a pediatric formulation of praziquantel for the treatment of schistosomiasis. In this report, we will introduce concretely how Astellas has promoted new drug development projects for NTDs in collaboration with various external partners, giving the projects as examples.