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.
Hong Kong on Saturday mourned the 128 people known to have died in a massive fire at a high-rise apartment complex, a toll that is likely to rise with...
The global recall of Airbus A320 aircraft has triggered widespread disruption across several major airlines, forcing flight cancellations in the Unite...
U.S. investigators have recovered the black box recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed in flames on takeoff in Louisville, Kent...
Pope Leo visited Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Saturday, stepping inside one of the most iconic sites of the Muslim world. He removed his shoes at the e...
Russian drones and missiles struck several districts of Kyiv early on Saturday, killing one person and injuring more than a dozen. Fires swept through...
A groundbreaking study presented at ASCO reveals that AstraZeneca’s experimental pill camizestrant, when used based on blood test results, can halve the risk of breast cancer progression or death—potentially reshaping treatment for patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer
AstraZeneca is acquiring Belgium-based EsoBiotec for $1 billion to expand its cell therapy capabilities, with the deal set to close in the second quarter.
At least 47 people have died and another 21 are reported missing following ten days of heavy rainfall, floods, and landslides across Sri Lanka, local media reported on Thursday (27 November).
Hong Kong fire authorities said they expected to wrap up search and rescue operations on Friday after the city's worst fire in nearly 80 years tore through a massive apartment complex, killing at least 128 people, injuring 79 and leaving around 200 still missing.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier in the Latin American region on Thursday, amid a military buildup by President Donald Trump’s administration that has heightened tensions with Venezuela.
Rescuers in Sri Lanka are racing against rising floodwaters and treacherous terrain today after a powerful storm system slammed into the island nation, killing at least 46 people and displacing tens of thousands in a disaster that threatens to strain the country’s resources.
The Spanish agricultural sector has been placed on high alert following the confirmation that African Swine Fever (ASF) has resurfaced in the country for the first time in over thirty years.
The Spanish agricultural sector has been placed on high alert following the confirmation that African Swine Fever (ASF) has resurfaced in the country for the first time in over thirty years.
French health experts are warning that the highly pathogenic H5 strain of bird flu, already devastating wild and farm animals, could evolve into a virus capable of human-to-human transmission — potentially sparking a pandemic worse than COVID-19.
China has overtaken the United States in the volume of medical research it publishes, showing a major shift in global scientific influence, according to the chief editorial leadership of Swiss-based scientific publisher Frontiers.
A recent study shows that women face a higher risk of job loss due to artificial intelligence (AI) and are 20% less likely than men to use generative AI tools, reducing their chances of working in AI-reliant roles.
There are 29 confirmed cases of the mpox virus in Portugal according to local authorities, which reported in the past three months that there were 10 people in August, three in September, and 16 others in October.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment