As UK Prime Minister Starmer visits China, British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced on the 29th that it plans to invest $15 billion (58.959 billion ringgit) in China by 2030 to expand its presence in pharmaceutical production and R&D. In the future, the company’s workforce in China will exceed 20,000 employees.
According to comprehensive reports from Chinese media outlets Yicai and Jiemian News, AstraZeneca (AZ) said that the latest investment will fully leverage China’s research strengths and advanced manufacturing capabilities, and, by relying on the synergistic cooperation between the UK and Chinese healthcare ecosystems, bring advanced, innovative therapies to patients in China and around the world.
The report stated that these investments will further deepen AZ’s R&D layout in China, including global strategic R&D centers in Beijing and Shanghai, which have partnered with more than 500 hospitals and led a large number of global clinical trials over the past three years. Meanwhile, AZ will upgrade its production bases in Wuxi, Taizhou, Qingdao, and Beijing, and will announce plans for new production bases at an appropriate time. Through these investments, AZ’s workforce in China will exceed 20,000 employees and create several thousand new jobs across the entire healthcare ecosystem.
AZ CEO Pascal Soriot said the major investment announced today marks a new chapter in the company’s development in China. China has become a vital force in scientific innovation, advanced manufacturing, and global public health. By further expanding AZ’s capabilities in breakthrough therapies such as cell therapy and radioligand drugs, AZ will make greater contributions to China’s high-quality development, and more importantly, bring next-generation innovative therapies to more patients.
The report states that this investment will also significantly enhance AZ’s capabilities in cell therapy and radioligand drugs, propel the company’s broad and diverse product pipeline, and benefit patients with cancer, hematological diseases, and autoimmune diseases. AZ will also become the first multinational pharmaceutical company in China with end-to-end cell therapy capabilities.
The report mentions that since 2023, AZ has invested over $1.8 billion (7.075 billion ringgit) to further increase manufacturing in China, and plans to launch 20 globally innovative drugs by the end of 2030. As of January this year, AZ had more than 200 R&D projects in its China pipeline, with an additional 10 to 15 new projects each year.