Biopharmaceutical multinational AstraZeneca is not letting a bumpy 2024 dictate its path forward in China, and in the wake of a recent controversy emerges a multibillion-dollar commitment to China-based research – plus the company’s first vaccine-manufacturing facility in the country.
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The British-Swedish drug maker, which saw one of its executives detained in China last year, announced a multibillion-dollar investment deal last week, before its CEO attended a global business forum in Beijing.
AstraZeneca inked a US$2.5 billion contract with the city government of Beijing to establish the firm’s sixth global strategic R&D centre, with high-end industrialisation projects conducted in the Chinese capital to advance life sciences throughout the country.
The announcement comes at a time when Beijing is ramping up efforts to court foreign investment to stabilise the economy and counteract external risks. The committed total, to be spread out over the next five years, is part of AstraZeneca’s strategic partnership with Beijing city to grow its workforce there to 1,700 employees with facilities close to the state watchdog, the National Medical Products Administration, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement.
With the latest investments in Beijing, the drug maker will have two global R&D centres in the country – the other in Shanghai – to advance early-stage research and clinical development.
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AstraZeneca’s first vaccine-manufacturing facility in China will be located in Beijing BioPark and offer the opportunity for joint ventures with local tech and medical start-ups.