(Yicai) March 26 -- French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi seeks deeper collaborations and local solutions in China after teaming up with a public welfare foundation to establish a new grant to launch a program to fight diabetes-related stigma and promote healthy lifestyles at schools amid the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

"We have a very high level of ambition for this program worldwide," Olivier Charmeil, executive vice president at the Paris-headquartered company, said in an interview with Yicai.

Sanofi and the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation launched the Sanofi China Charity Grant in Beijing recently. The grant will allow the pair to debut the Kids and Diabetes in School Kids program, established in 2013 with partners such as the International Diabetes Federation and the International Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Diabetes, to deliver health literacy programs and build a healthier school environment.

"Diabetes is an awful burden that puts a lot of pressure on the families, parents, and kids," Charmeil said, adding that the KiDS program can raise awareness. "We want to make the life of both the kids and the parents a little bit easier. The program has reached over 300,000 kids around the world, and in China, the objective is to influence 100,000 kids directly.

Long View

Charmeil said that China is the second-largest market after the United States for Sanofi so that explains its focus on long-term investment.

"We are not looking at the next 12 or 24 months. We look strategically at the next 15 to 20 years and this is why we invest heavily in research and development," Charmeil said. "What we want to do is to bring our global compounds to China, our innovation. We want to look at ‘in China for China’ therapeutic solutions that are well customized to the market and that can bring a lot of value to the Chinese patient."

The pharma giant wants to benefit from the local R&D ecosystem. "This is why we have R&D centers here in China." Sanofi has four research centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Chengdu, and three manufacturing sites in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, and Beijing.

The firm is actively seeking more collaborations. "We are looking into a couple of programs to co-design with the Chinese authorities in order to make sure that we continue to forge the alliance between our two countries and of course, mostly for us on the scientific side." In this regard, Sanofi aims to bring the scientific community and healthcare closer together.

Editor: Emmi Laine