(Yicai) March 24 -- UK-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will spend USD2.5 billion to build its sixth global strategic research and development center in Beijing to further enhance its innovation ability in China.

Located in the Beijing International Pharmaceutical Innovation Park (BioPark) near leading biotechnology firms, research hospitals, and the National Medical Products Administration, the Beijing R&D center will advance early-stage research and clinical development and be enabled by a new state-of-the-art artificial intelligence and data science laboratory, the London-based company announced on March 21.

AstraZeneca already has one R&D center in China in Shanghai, which was inaugurated in October 2021. The Shanghai R&D center aims to advance the research, development, and clinical trials of new medicines, both from China and overseas.

“This USD2.5 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,” said Pascal Soriot, chief executive officer of AstraZeneca. “Our sixth strategic R&D center 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.”

This investment over the next five years is part of a strategic partnership with the Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Office and includes agreements with three Chinese biotech companies: Harbour BioMed, Syneron Bio, and Kangtai Biological Products, also known as BioKangtai.

AstraZeneca signed a collaboration and licensing agreement with Harbour BioMed to discover multi-specific antibodies and one with Syneron Bio to develop macro-cyclic peptides.

Moreover, AstraZeneca will set up a joint venture with BioKangtai to develop, manufacture, and commercialize innovative vaccines for respiratory and other infectious diseases for Chinese and overseas patients. The JV, which will also be located in the Beijing BioPark, will be the company’s first vaccine manufacturing facility in China.

On Feb. 20, US biopharmaceutical firm FibroGen announced it would sell its Chinese subsidiary to AstraZeneca for about USD160 million, with the sale expected to be completed by the middle of the year. AstraZeneca will obtain the full rights to roxadustat, a first-in-class oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor, in China.

AstraZeneca’s workforce in Beijing will reach 1,700 employees after the deal with FibroGen is completed and the R&D center is built.

China is one of AstraZeneca’s most important global markets, as the company’s revenue from the world’s second-largest economy rose 11 percent to USD6.4 billion last year from the year before, accounting for 12 percent of the total revenue.

Since 2023, AstraZeneca has invested more than USD1.7 billion to expand its production in China, including spending USD750 million to build a new inhaler production base in Qingdao, eastern Shandong province, and USD475 million for a small molecule drug factory in Wuxi, eastern Jiangsu province.

Editor: Futura Costaglione