AstraZeneca, opens new tab said it will spend $2.5 billion on a research and development hub in Beijing, as the drugmaker scrambles to revive business in its second-biggest market after scandals including the arrest of its China president last year.
Chief Executive Pascal Soriot was in Beijing and met with the city's mayor to reveal the investment, along with two licensing deals with Chinese companies, and a joint venture with a third Chinese firm on vaccines, saying they all showed the company's commitment to the world's No. 2 economy.
"This $2.5 billion investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China," Soriot said in a statement.
The R&D centre "will partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing and be a critical part of our global efforts to bring innovative medicines to patients worldwide," Soriot said.
The centre in Beijing will be the company's second R&D site in China - a centre in Shanghai opened in 2024 - to match two such centres each that AstraZeneca has in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, a company spokesperson said.
The Chinese government has launched several investigations into AstraZeneca's executives and activities in the country, where the drugmaker has invested billions of dollars to build factories and license experimental drug candidates from Chinese biotech firms.
China accounted for about 12% of group revenue last year. The company, the UK's largest listed company worth 183 billion pounds ($236 billion) on the blue-chip FTSE 100 index, opens new tab, is the largest foreign drugmaker in China.
Soriot has often visited the country in recent years and praised the value of doing business there even when other multinationals complained of challenges or cited geopolitical tensions between China and Western countries as a risk for the pharma industry.
He is due to attend a flagship development conference in Beijing over the coming days where some are expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The company put its former China head Leon Wang, who also led its international business as an executive vice president, on administrative leave following his detention by Chinese authorities in October, and overhauled its local management in China.
Soriot said at quarterly results last month that the company still does not know Wang's whereabouts. Its stock was hit hard by news of the probes in October 2024, but shares have since recovered as investors hope the impact could be minor.
A company spokesperson declined on Friday to comment on the status of the investigations.
The licensing agreements announced on Friday were with Chinese firms Harbour BioMed and Syneron Bio, for early-stage experimental medicines. The financial terms were not disclosed.
The deals were the latest of about a dozen AstraZeneca has signed with Chinese firms in the past several years - including on obesity drugs - worth a total of at least $9 billion, according to the company.
It is also launching a joint venture with another firm, BioKangtai, to develop, manufacture and commercialize vaccines for respiratory and other infectious diseases for patients in China and elsewhere. The site, in Beijing, will be the company's first vaccine manufacturing facility in the country.
The company on Friday also announced a partnership with state-run Beijing Cancer Hospital focused on data science and clinical development.
Russian President Vladimir Putin held more than three hours of talks with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Moscow on efforts to end t...
U.S. forces have struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iran launched ballistic missiles at two Navy ships, according to U.S. Central Command. ...
Two Greek military pilots were killed on Saturday when an F-4 Phantom fighter jet crashed during an air show at Tanagra air base, north of Athens, ...
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
An eruption of Indonesia’s Mount Anak Krakatau has disrupted air travel, school activities and fishing operations, with hundreds of passengers stranded at Jakarta’s main airport on Sunday.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, according to three senior Iranian sources. Washington is escalating pressure in hopes of securing concessions in future negotiations.
An Iranian tanker was hit by U.S. forces on Saturday near Iran's key oil export hub, Kharg Island, in the Gulf, the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.
Prescriptions for GLP-1 weight-loss medicines among U.S. children aged eight to 11 have increased more than 300-fold since 2019, highlighting both the growing burden of childhood obesity and the debate over how early these drugs should be used.
Australia has confirmed its first case of H5N1 bird flu in a mammal after the virus was detected in a dead long-nosed fur seal in South Australia, authorities said.
Malaysia is facing a sharp rise in dengue infections, with the capital Kuala Lumpur and the wider Klang Valley emerging as the main centres of concern.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Ebola outbreak has surpassed 5,000 confirmed cases, with the death toll reaching 2,378, according to the latest government data.
The Democratic Republic of Congo says the number of confirmed Ebola cases has risen to more than 5,000, with more than 2,300 deaths. Delayed detection, weak surveillance, funding shortages and conflict have allowed the virus to spread faster than in any previous epidemic at the same stage.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment