Astellas Korea’s Lee Seon-hee appointed GM of Astellas Egypt

Astellas Korea, the Korean affiliate of global life sciences company Astellas Pharma, said Monday that Lee Seon-hee, executive director and head of commercial excellence and market access, has been appointed as the new general manager (GM) of Astellas Egypt, effective Aug. 1.

Lee will become the first Korean executive from the Korean pharmaceutical industry to lead Astellas’ Middle East operations.

Lee joined Astellas Korea in March 2024 and has since led the Commercial Excellence organization, spearheading company-wide strategic planning, organizational capability building, and the advancement of omnichannel marketing.

She later expanded her role to oversee Market Access, where she played a pivotal role in refining reimbursement strategies, particularly for the company’s oncology pipeline, helping to enhance market entry prospects for core products.

With more than 23 years of experience in leading pharmaceutical companies, Lee’s career spans critical leadership roles in business units, market access, and global marketing.

Notably, during her 14-year tenure at MSD Korea, she led the General Medicine and Specialty Business Unit and successfully executed market access strategies for immunotherapies. Her global experience also includes a stint at Merck & Co.’s headquarters in New Jersey, where she worked on emerging market launch strategies within the global antibiotics marketing team.

Astellas has recently established the T-MEA division, integrating Turkey, the Middle East, and Africa, with headquarters in Istanbul. This regional hub aims to address significant unmet medical needs, and Astellas Egypt, established in 2022, has become a key market within this structure, working to expand local treatment opportunities across multiple therapeutic areas.

“Astellas Korea is proud to see Lee Seon-hee’s global promotion, a testament to the international recognition of the talent within our organization,” Astellas Korea General Manager Kim Jun-il said. “Given Egypt’s position as a key hub in the Middle East and Africa, where unmet medical needs are high, we are confident that Lee will deliver meaningful achievements based on her extensive experience and leadership.”

This appointment continues a trend of Korean Astellas executives being recognized on the global stage.

Since last year, several Korean leaders have taken on overseas roles, including Oncology Division Director Moon Su-mi, who moved to the Astellas International Region, and Medical Affairs Director Park Kyung-ah, who transitioned to the International Region and China Medical Affairs. Earlier this year, Market Access Head Lee Go-woon also joined the Global Market Access team at Astellas Europe in London, with all taking on critical roles related to the company’s growing ADC (antibody-drug conjugate) portfolio.