**London**: AstraZeneca is investing $2.5 billion in Beijing to establish a new global R&D centre. The initiative includes partnerships with local biotech firms, aiming to enhance early-stage studies in collaboration with cutting-edge science, while facing scrutiny over past operations in China.
AstraZeneca is making a significant investment in China as part of its strategy to establish a global research and development (R&D) footprint. In a press release issued on Friday, the pharmaceutical giant announced plans to invest $2.5 billion in Beijing over the next five years. This financial commitment will be directed towards the establishment of its sixth global strategic R&D centre, which will emphasise early-stage studies and clinical development. CEO Pascal Soriot remarked that the new facility aims to “partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing.”
In addition to the $2.5 billion investment for the new research centre, AstraZeneca has formalised several collaborative agreements with Chinese biotechnology firms. One of these partnerships involves collaboration with Harbour BioMed, a Shanghai-based company focusing on the development of next-generation multispecific antibodies. Under this arrangement, AstraZeneca will pay an upfront fee of $175 million, with the potential for additional milestone payments totalling up to $4.4 billion. This agreement allows AstraZeneca the option to license two preclinical immunology programmes and the ability to nominate other targets in the future.
AstraZeneca’s collaboration with Syneron Bio, based in Beijing, will aim to advance oral macrocyclic peptides. The agreement includes an upfront payment of $75 million and a commitment of up to $3.4 billion in milestone payments. Specific therapeutic areas were not disclosed, but the two companies indicated a focus on chronic diseases, which could encompass rare, autoimmune, and metabolic conditions.
Moreover, AstraZeneca plans to work alongside the Beijing Cancer Hospital for translational research, data science, and clinical development. The pharmaceutical company is also set to launch a joint vaccine venture with BioKangtai, further solidifying its presence in the Chinese biopharmaceutical landscape.
This large-scale investment comes at a time when AstraZeneca is under scrutiny regarding its operations in China. Reports emerged recently, as noted by local financial publication Yicai, that Leon Wang, AstraZeneca’s former president in China, is being investigated for alleged insurance fraud. Wang was detained by Chinese authorities late last year, and AstraZeneca has confirmed it has not had access to him since February. Furthermore, during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year business report last month, it was mentioned that AstraZeneca faces a fine of approximately $4.5 million in connection with alleged missed import taxes in China.
AstraZeneca’s initiatives come amid growing political and economic pressures, particularly as the U.S. government, under the Trump administration, called on pharmaceutical companies to relocate their manufacturing operations to the United States. This was evidenced by Eli Lilly’s recent announcement of a $27 billion investment into its U.S. manufacturing capabilities, which includes plans for four new manufacturing plants over a five-year period.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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