Sitting Down With… Claus Zieler

What made you choose a career in the pharma industry?
 

I'm a molecular biologist by training and I've always been interested in cutting-edge science. When I was studying at Princeton, I was part of the team that produced the first monoclonal antibody in the 1980s. I then went on to do an MBA. What do you do if you have a science degree and an MBA? You join the pharma industry, of course!

Jokes aside, the industry is fascinating to work in and it has an incredibly strong purpose. Contributing to health is just about the most noble thing you can do in a career path. Pharma is also interesting because it is a complex industry full of highly skilled professionals with very different backgrounds and perspectives. As a leader, I have to work with people from across the business, from sales people to pharmacovigilance experts. It is my job to develop a common vision and direction, and to link all the parts together so that the enterprise as a whole can develop innovations. It takes a lot of energy to deliver value in such a complex environment and it’s something that I very much enjoy.

How did you join Astellas?
 

I joined Astellas in 2019. Before that, a lot of my career was spent in emerging markets. I spent 8 years in Latin America and 10 years in Asia. Astellas approached me to ask if I was interested in building a new commercial region for the company from scratch. I’d never done this before and it sounded fun – so I said yes!

I was employee number one in that region. Today, there is a team of 50 people or so in the Singapore office, and there is a strategy and clear direction. I really enjoyed the role but I’ve now moved on to a different part of the company.

What is it that you enjoy about working in emerging markets?
 

They are very volatile. When you wake up in the morning you don’t know what hurdle you will face, but the people are very hungry in a knowledge sense. They want to progress, they want to learn, and they want to improve. The workforce in emerging markets is often extremely committed and energetic. The people are often younger and less experienced, but they really want to apply the things they learn. It was a lot of fun to work with people who were so driven.

How did you get involved with EFPIA?
 

Astellas has a seat on the board of EFPIA and I took that seat for the company, which has given me the opportunity to discuss issues with people in different EU member states, parliamentarians and members of the European Commission. I usually make a point to have a productive exchange of ideas on what it takes to bring new products to patients and to deliver value.

I truly believe that the pharma industry is one of the top innovation drivers in the world. If you look at the percentage of sales that the pharma industry spends on R&D, it is higher than the car or software industries. Pharma’s contribution to innovation needs to be recognized and should be facilitated on the side of policy makers. It needs to be easier for pharma companies to bring innovations forward. There is no use developing something if it sits in the corner and no one has access to it.

In Europe, I believe we have significant access issues when it comes to getting innovations into the hands of doctors so that they can treat patients and improve lives. These issues will only be overcome with intense dialogue between policymakers and the industry. I would like to see incentives for drug development in Europe increased and the regulatory burden lowered.

Tell us about Astellas’s latest investment in Ireland…
 

Astellas has had manufacturing plants in Ireland for around 30 years. We broke ground on a new aseptic facility in March 2024, which will represent an approximate investment of around 330 million euros. Operations are expected to commence in 2028.

Our experience in Ireland, especially with Tralee in Kerry County, is that the local authority has been very keen to understand what it takes to run a manufacturing plant and what our needs are. The relationship has grown over time and there’s now a lot of trust between the local government and us as a company. We employ highly skilled people in the community, including people from the local university, and the career opportunities we provide are facilitated in a constructive way. The local government tells us what requirements we need to comply with and what they expect of us. It’s been a positive experience.

The new facility is located at Kerry Technology Park and adjacent to a campus of Munster Technology University. It’s just down the road from one of our existing manufacturing plants, which makes many things a lot easier because both plants are subject to the same local regulations in the area, such as requirements for sustainability. The new facility will have a significant focus on reducing energy use and achieving zero waste to landfill.

What areas of drug development excite you right now?
 

I truly think that Europe is one of the major innovation engines for humankind – there are a lot of exciting developments in drug development right now. One is gene therapy, which is allowing us to potentially cure diseases rather than treating the symptoms as we do today. When I was a student, we used to brainstorm the potential of replacing defective genes in the body – and now those medicines actually exist on the market!

I also see a lot of future in cell therapy. Some diseases are so multifactorial that we're not able to actually identify all the different genes that play a role, but we might be able to replace the cell that's defective. Think about type 1 diabetes where the cells in the islets of Langerhans are eliminated through an autoimmune reaction and can no longer produce insulin. Now imagine if we could insert those cells again and have them produce insulin – and the impact this would have on patients.

The same is true in the eye, which is an area that Astellas is working on. If you lose your photoreceptor cells, you essentially lose your eyesight in either one or both eyes. There is no treatment that will restore dead cells, but if you could replace those cells you could potentially restore eyesight again. For me, this has tremendous potential in helping patients to return to a more normal life.

But exciting drug development is not just about replacing genes or cells – we can also still use chemical approaches. Here, Astellas is working on targeted protein degradation. When you've identified a disease mechanism, you can sometimes see where you need to intervene to alter the course of the disease, or stop the disease reaction from continuing, such as by inhibiting a molecule binding to a receptor, hormone, or signal messenger. In some undruggable targets though we can’t find a binding site. Targeted protein degradation though means you can degrade your target – essentially chopping it to pieces – which can also stop the disease mechanism from continuing.

I'm very proud to say that Astellas is at the forefront of this innovative area and it could potentially help patients in many different disease settings.