AstraZeneca, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, plans to invest up to US$100 million in research and development (R&D) in China over the next three years.

The prime focus of the programme will be the establishment of the AstraZeneca Innovation Centre China, which will look into Chinese patients, biomarkers and genetics, according to David Brennan, chief executive officer of AstraZeneca.

The innovation centre, scheduled to open by 2009, has chosen cancer - a major cause of death in China and the rest of the world - as its initial research area, Brennan said.

The new centre, with an investment of at least US$60 million, will probably be built in Shanghai.

In addition, AstraZeneca will expand its clinical research capabilities and work with local Chinese organizations, Brennan said.

He added that his company had signed a deal worth US$14 million with Wuxi Pharmatech and is working with Shanghai Jiaotong University on the genetics of schizophrenia.

This is the first time that AstraZeneca has invested in R&D in China. In 2001 the firm built a US$134 million factory in Wuxi, a city in East China's Jiangsu Province.

"We are fully supporting China's national focus on innovation by substantially increasing our R&D investment here, both in financial terms and in terms of scientific collaboration," Brennan said.

Source: China Daily