CBI member and global biopharmaceuticals giant, AstraZeneca has announced plans to increase its research and development capabilities in China.
The company plans to localise the R&D phase of seven medicines in China in a bid to strengthen its R&D capabilities in China as well as lower costs for patients.
According to Wang Lei, the CEO of AstraZeneca, the company will “take advantage of its production and logistics bases in Wuxi and Taizhou in Jiangsu Province to mass produce high-quality and low-cost medicines. […] we will use our [China-based] production advantages to raise production and lower costs, so that patients can benefit from more reasonable prices.”
In the 25 years which AstraZeneca has been present in the China market, the company has brought 30 products to market. That figure is about to rise to 31, as the company prepares to introduce a new Renal Anaemia medication to market.
According to Wang Lei, by localising R&D in China, AstraZeneca will not only be in a position to better serve the China market, but also the other 70 countries around the world to which the company exports its products; most of which are developing countries.
Foreign companies wishing to engage the China market have found that they are beginning to have more and more success as a result of localising phases of product development and manufacturing. For example, Wang says that by building AstraZeneca’s capacity in China, the company will be better placed to “meet the country’s ever-changing medical needs and pain points.” Nonetheless, the company is already reporting significant success in China; which has become AstraZeneca’s second-largest market. However, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering that China is the second-largest medical consumption market in the world.
According to Wang, the decision to increase capacity in China was made to reflect the fact that China is the company’s fastest-growing market, with 12% y/y growth in 2017. AstraZeneca has invested $750 million in China to date, but this investment was mostly related to the import of foreign drugs into China.
This latest announcement marks a new phase. From now on, AstraZeneca will develop new drugs locally in China and will shift its emphasis towards specific medicines and anti-cancer drugs.
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