Associate Director Patents

The organisation

Astellas is a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company employing over 17,000 people worldwide with global sales exceeding 11 billion euro. The group’s EMEA headquarters are based in London, with affiliates throughout Europe engaged in research & development (R&D), manufacturing and sales & marketing.

With over 4,500 employees, EMEA is an important and growing Astellas region, having key strengths in the therapy areas of Urology, Transplantation, Anti Infectives, Pain Management and Oncology. The global annual R&D investment of 15% to 20% of sales is evidence of the group’s commitment to improving the health of people worldwide through the provision of innovative and reliable products.

Astellas employs around 950 persons in the Netherlands, in Leiden and Meppel.

Mirai House, located in Leiden Bio Science Park, is home to a number of divisions, including the European R&D organization focusing on the development of medicines in the areas of Urology, Nephrology, Pain, and Diabetes/Metabolic diseases.

In Leiden Bio Science Park about 93 companies together with research institutes, Leiden University and the LUMC are dedicated to the development of innovative drugs, vaccines, diagnostics and platform technologies. 

The position

As Associate Director Patents you provide patent and strategic support to Astellas EMEA operations and MD (Medical Development) covering a broad spectrum of patent support for certain therapeuctic areas. In this position you are responsible for managing a broad range of stakeholders at EMEA and global level with a significant impact on business decisions and outcomes across the EMEA region.

In the role as Associate Director Patents you are advising Astellas in Europe in all patent-related matters, including patent litigation, due diligence, business development, parallel import, product patent situation, product exclusivity matters and life cycle management. You manage patent litigation and instructing external local counsel (Astellas Europe cases) and assisting in patent litigation in Europe.

Furthermore you contribute to the realisation of an effective patent portfolio to safeguard rights for inventions made in or for Astellas and to protect Astellas products by an appropriate patent portfolio. You are safeguarding that Astellas products are marketed in the European territory without infringing other parties’ patent rights.

As Associate Director Patents you manage a part of Astellas Europe patent portfolio both with respect to pending applications and granted patents, in order to safeguard the rights of the company in a cost-effective manner and in such way that an optimal patent portfolio is created and maintained to protect Astellas already marketed products on the one hand and new products that are still in the development phase, taking into account national and international law and guidelines issued by Europe and Japan.

Next to this you will Draft freedom-to-operate opinions both with respect to new Astellas’ products and in-licensing candidate products, based on the outcome of searches, conducted in-house or by external searching agencies.

Candidate profile

• Master degree in life sciences and/or medical devices
• Qualified European Patent Attorney
• Experience in due diligence
• At least 3 years post-qualification experience as an in-house patent attorney or patent attorney in private practice, exposed to the full range of activities

As Associate Director Patents you are a team player. You will be a team member of the EMEA IP group and working in close contact with the global IP members in your specific therapeutic areas. You are open and transparent in information sharing. Besides that you have a high degree of attention to detail and are you able to follow many prescribed processes.

You have state of the art know how of European patent convention procedures, international patent application procedures, national and foreign patent procedures and electronic databases such as patent management information systems, national, European and international online database. You are a strategic thinker and able to see the ‘big picture’. As self-starter you are able to initiate, drive and shape the patent strategy as well as the strategic business issues relevant for your area of responsibility.

Furthermore, you have the ability to deal with highly confidential information with discretion and sensitivity. You manage priorities and deal with conflicting demands in a global organization. You also have excellent organizational and planning skills and the ability to multitask and to work to tight deadlines.

As Associate Director Patents you have excellent interpersonal written and verbal communication skills in English. Next to this you can work on different levels and you can build great relationships with people from other cultures. You are keen on new developments in European and international case law with respect to patents. 

We offer

• A challenging and diversified job in a team of professionals
• Inspiring work climate
• Attractive remuneration, which includes:
  o a 13th month
  o excellent pension policy
  o health insurance compensation
  o collective health insurance
  o company own saving scheme arrangement
  o 25 Holidays + 13 so called ADV Days
  o and more….

At Astellas, we believe that nurturing a good relationship with our employees delivers good business results. It is our stated aim in the VISION for Astellas to be recognised as an Employer of Choice. This means ensuring we are a highly effective organisation, that applies best-in-class people management, creates a positive working environment and has an inspirational company culture..

This reflects the working culture of Astellas, outlines our expectations as an employer and captures the essence of our company ethos; CHANGING TOMORROW.

Interested?

You can apply to this position by using the link below. A VOG and/or background check can be part of the recruitment process.

Agency or sales calls are not appreciated