AstraZeneca Elevates China R&D Center to Global Strategic Hub Amid Renewed Focus on Oncology Innovation

March 2, 2024, AstraZeneca Global R&D China Center Successfully Concludes "2024 AstraZeneca China R&D Day - Committed to Conquering Cancer" Event.Previously, AstraZeneca announced that Shanghai has become a global strategic center, and the China Global R&D Center has been upgraded to one of AstraZeneca's five global strategic R&D centers.In this event, nearly thirty top experts and scholars from nearly twenty clinical research centers, academic institutions, and industry organizations participated in the keynote forum and three sub-forums.In the fields of cutting-edge tumor research and gastric cancer, breast cancer, gynecological tumors, hematological tumors, and cell therapyEngaged in in-depth exchanges and cooperation discussions, the number of AstraZeneca's global oncology R&D senior management team members who participated in this R&D Day event on-site has reached a new high!The two-day conference attracted nearly 400 on-site attendees and over ten thousand online viewers.

Further Strengthen Innovation in China and Enhance the Innovation Capability of China R&D Center

As early as 2002, AstraZeneca began multi-center clinical research in China. In 2007, AstraZeneca invested in establishing the China Innovation Center in China. Later, in 2013, it set up the China New Drug Development Department, which was upgraded to the Global R&D China Center in 2019. In 2024, it was upgraded again to become one of the five global strategic R&D centers, alongside Cambridge in the UK, Gaithersburg in the US, Gothenburg in Sweden, and Boston in the US, emerging as a strategically positioned leader in AstraZeneca's global R&D landscape.

With the continuous increase in investment and scientific leadership in AstraZeneca's R&D center in China, the AstraZeneca China R&D team has evolved from primarily following the steps of its global R&D team to now leading global new drug development processes and clinical designs in certain disease areas in collaboration with Chinese experts. This evolution is driven by the enhanced capabilities of China’s clinical research institutions. China has now become one of AstraZeneca's five global strategic R&D centers. In the field of oncology, the China R&D center is responsible for over 25% of the company’s global clinical research. In other therapeutic areas, the China R&D center also handles approximately 20% of the clinical drug development work.

AstraZeneca has always regarded 'innovation' as the driving force for development, and research and development innovation has been AstraZeneca's strategic focus.As the Chinese government has provided sufficient policy guidance and attention to the healthcare industry, China is accelerating its position as an important source of global pharmaceutical innovation. Over the 30 years since entering China, AstraZeneca has continuously increased its investment in AstraZeneca China's R&D platform, committing to addressing unmet medical needs in China and around the world.By 2024, the team at AstraZeneca's Global R&D Center in China is expected to exceed 1,000 people, with research investment more than doubling compared to 2020. In the future, as the strategic influence of AstraZeneca's Global R&D Center in China becomes more prominent, China will truly become an innovation hub, driving the next wave of global pharmaceutical innovation.

Dr. He Jing, Senior Vice President of AstraZeneca Global and Head of China Center for Global R&DRepresentation"The strategic upgrade of AstraZeneca's Global R&D China Center also represents AstraZeneca's renewed confidence in China's innovation. Standing at a higher strategic starting point, we continue to take action, exploring the path of science together with China's research and innovative forces, and promoting scientific development. In the future, we will deepen our connection with China’s innovation, empower China’s innovation to set sail globally, and benefit patients in China and around the world."

AstraZenecaDr. He Jing, Senior Vice President of AstraZeneca Global and Head of China R&D Center

Rooted in China, fully leverage the multi-platform communication function

Over the past nearly 30 years of deep cultivation in the Chinese market, AstraZeneca's R&D team in China has been committed to collaborating with partners from government, industry, academia, research, medical, and investment sectors to build an R&D innovation ecosystem. It explores innovative pathways for pharmaceutical product development, witnesses and accelerates the advancement of scientific research innovation in China, allowing Chinese innovation to benefit more patients in China and even globally.

Currently, AstraZeneca’s Global R&D China Center has established in-depth cooperation with over 400 hospitals across more than 170 cities in China. It has also signed strategic cooperation memorandums with more than 20 leading research hospitals in China. Leveraging top resources from AstraZeneca’s global R&D network and scientific insights into diseases, the center continuously assists hospitals in enhancing their research capabilities while strengthening and expanding collaborations with research-oriented hospitals and China’s top experts to achieve the vision of advancing global pharmaceutical R&D with China speed. In the fields of basic science and early-stage R&D, AstraZeneca’s Global R&D China Center collaborates with top medical and academic institutions in relevant disease areas within China, biotech companies, and others in areas such as fundamental disease research, early target validation, translational medicine, and early cancer diagnosis. This collaboration aims to fully explore domestic early-stage R&D potential. Since 2022, AstraZeneca has established the AstraZeneca China Translational Medicine Research Fund to support fundamental and translational medicine research in China. At the 2024 R&D Day, AstraZeneca officially announced a partnership with Peking University Cancer Hospital to create a global academic base for gastric cancer, promoting global early clinical research in gastric cancer.

As AstraZeneca continues to increase its focus and collaboration with China's biotech innovation companies, Chinese innovation is rapidly integrating into AstraZeneca's R&D pipeline and capability development, injecting strong momentum into the growth and globalization of China's innovative biotech enterprises. In 2023, for example, AstraZeneca announced cooperation or acquisition agreements with six Chinese biotech companies, with disclosed transaction amounts exceeding 5 billion US dollars. The collaborations span multiple areas, including novel target discovery, new compound validation, and the development of new mechanisms and treatment methods.

As an important communication platform connecting China's innovation, basic science, clinical practice with AstraZeneca’s global R&D team, AstraZeneca China R&D Day has successfully held four events since its inception in 2022, ranging from introducing AstraZeneca's global open innovation platform CoSolve program to establishing a translational medicine research fund., Postdoctoral Program, and This YearAnnounced the joint creation of a global academic base for gastric cancer with Peking University Cancer Hospital, yielding fruitful results.Through this platform, AstraZeneca's global R&D management team continues to focus on China's innovative strength in the fields of oncology, chronic diseases, and rare diseases, seeking opportunities for in-depth exchange and collaboration with scholars and experts from Chinese research institutes, clinical research centers, and innovative enterprises.

At this year's R&D Day, AstraZeneca Global R&D China Center announced the selected projects for the 2023 AstraZeneca China Translational Medicine Research Fund and the latest projects for 2024. The three selected projects for 2023 come from the Cancer Hospital of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, the Cancer Hospital of Fudan University, and Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Lihua Chen from the Cancer Hospital of Fudan University and Dr. Xi Jiao from Peking University Cancer Hospital have successfully been accepted into AstraZeneca’s Global Oncology R&D China Postdoctoral Program. This program, launched last year, aims to support and cultivate future scientific leaders in China by providing top Chinese talents with financial support and academic guidance from AstraZeneca's world-class scientists. The global academic base for gastric cancer at Peking University Cancer Hospital was also officially inaugurated during the R&D Day event. AstraZeneca is collaborating closely with Peking University Cancer Hospital on early clinical R&D in gastric cancer, leading the way in pharmaceutical research in the global gastric cancer field.

Dr. Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca Global and Head of Global Oncology R&D"I am honored to witness Shanghai becoming one of AstraZeneca's five global strategic R&D centers during my visit to China this time, and I have also deeply felt the high quality and rapid speed of China's innovative development. The 2024 R&D Day event attracted more than ten thousand Chinese scholars, clinicians, and practitioners from biotechnology companies, and I am very glad to have participated in it personally. I look forward to maintaining long-term exchanges with innovative forces in the future, and together, we can help China's innovation benefit patients worldwide."