AstraZeneca plans to build a $2.5 billion research and development center in Beijing, the Britain-based multinational pharmaceutical announced Friday.
File Photo by Drago Prvuulovic/EPA-EFE
March 21 (UPI) — AstraZeneca plans to build a $2.5 billion research and development center in Beijing, the Britain-based multinational pharmaceutical announced Friday. The investment will mark the company’s sixth global investment hub and bring its workforce in Beijing to around 1,700, AstraZeneca said in a statement on its website.
The company is partnering with the local Beijing government and three Chinese biotech companies as part of the research and development center, as well as a “strategic partnership” with the Beijing Cancer Hospital.
The announcement comes only a month after Chinese officials warned AstraZeneca faced a stiff fine over unpaid import taxes.
AstraZeneca did not mention the issue in Friday’s news release.
The company has an existing research facility in Shanghai.
“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,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in the company’s statement.
Our sixth strategic 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.”
The three Chinese firms partnering with AstraZeneca are Harbour BioMed, Syneron Bio, and BioKangtai.
The company will work with BioKangtai as part of a separate initiative to open a vaccine manufacturing facility in China to develop treatments for respiratory and infectious diseases.