Astellas Pharma Inc. (4503.TO) said Monday that it has decided to withdraw its offer to buy U.S. biopharmaceutical company CV Therapeutics Inc. (CVTX).

The development came after Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD) last week proposed to buy CV Therapeutics at a higher price of $20 per share, or about $1.4 billion in cash.

Astellas has been seeking talks with CV Therapeutics on a friendly takeover, but has been repeatedly rejected. It had offered $16 a share in a tender offer.

-By Hiroyuki Kachi, Dow Jones Newswires, 813-5255-2929, hiroyuki.kachi@dowjones.com