GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said yesterday that it will spend US$40
million this year to start a research facility in Shanghai that
will grow into one of its largest research centers globally.
The world's second-largest pharmaceutical company has begun to
look for a research facility location in the city and aims to
recruit 50 to 100 top international scientists.
Its initial investment of US$40 million in 2007 is projected to
grow even larger in the coming years, as the company plans to have
1,000 scientists working at the facility in 10 years.
It is the latest trend for multinational pharmaceutical
companies, which have begun to invest heavily in research and
development in China. It is also the first multinational
pharmaceutical company with plans to undertake an entire range of
research in the nation. Others do only part of their research, such
as drug discovery or clinical trials, in the country.
"China will not only be famous as the world's factory, but also
attract (global attention) to its research and development for the
pharmaceutical industry," said Amy Huang, president of GSK
operations on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.
Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis announced last November that
it will build its eighth global research center in China at an
investment of US$100 million.
Three months ago, US drugmaker Elli Lilly committed the same
amount for research in the world's most populous market.
It also established a venture fund to invest in domestic drug
developers, including a first investment of US$10 million in a
local firm.
"The most important factor is access to scientific talent," said
Perry Nisen, senior vice-president of clinical pharmacology and
discovery medicine with London-based GSK.
After studying India and South Korea, the pharmaceutical giant
finally selected Shanghai due to its number and quality of
universities and hospitals and the density of foreign drug makers
in the city, as well as its attraction to overseas scientists.
It is estimated that more than 1 million Chinese went overseas
to study in the past 28 years, with 275,000 who have returned to
begin their careers in the world's fastest-growing economy.
The GSK center will be the only one for the company focusing on
neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's
disease and multiple sclerosis.
(China Daily July 3, 2007)
