AstraZeneca Elevates China to Fifth Global Strategic Center, Launches 2024 Shanghai Biopharma Innovation Outbound Initiative

If the industry were to select the multinational pharmaceutical company that highly practices "localization in China," "AstraZeneca" would undoubtedly come to mind first. At the start of 2024, AstraZeneca announced several significant pieces of news, further deepening its layout in China.

On February 26, the "2024 Shanghai Biomedical Industry International Development Conference," hosted by the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, organized by the Shanghai Biomedical Science and Technology Development Center and the Shanghai Biomedical Industry Promotion Center, and co-organized by AstraZeneca, was held.

At the conference, AstraZeneca officially announced that Shanghai has become its fifth global strategic center, emphasizing its continued optimism about the future development of the Chinese market. It also launched the "2024 Shanghai Biomedical Innovation Enterprise Cooperation Overseas Expansion Plan" to accelerate and support the international development of China's medical innovation.

What considerations led AstraZeneca to elevate the strategic importance of the Chinese market to new heights? What new paths and trends will it explore in the 2024 "Innovating from China to the World" initiative? We can gain some insights from AstraZeneca's presence at the conference.

Mr. Pascal Soriot, Global CEO of AstraZeneca PLCHe attended the conference and delivered a speech. He mentioned, "China plays a vital role in the global healthcare industry, leading in innovation and playing a key role in the global research, development, and production of critical drugs. For AstraZeneca, the Chinese market is essential, which is why today we are upgrading Shanghai to become our fifth global strategic center, to jointly push the boundaries of science and bring better medicines to the world. As an important hub for high-tech industries both in China and globally, we look forward to continuing our investment here, expanding our presence, and promoting sustainable development in the global health sector."

As an important strategic achievement of AstraZeneca, under the joint witness of guests from government, industry, academia, research, medical, and financial sectors,"AstraZeneca Global Strategic Center (Shanghai)" officially inaugurated, becoming one of AstraZeneca's five global strategic centers.This means that Shanghai, China, will become another global strategic center integrating R&D, commercial, and production operations, in addition to the four major R&D-focused strategic centers: Cambridge in the UK, Boston and Gaithersburg in the US, and Gothenburg in Sweden. It will serve as an important strategic pivot for AstraZeneca's global strategy, R&D, and long-term development.

"The Competitiveness of Multinational Pharmaceutical Companies Lies in Localization." Since entering the Chinese market in 1993, AstraZeneca has consistently prioritized patients, marking each decade as a significant phase, and has charted a clear path of localization in China.

At the starting stage, AstraZeneca targeted the opportunity presented by the imbalance in supply and demand in China's pharmaceutical market, focusing on treatment areas urgently needed by Chinese patients through..."Bring Global Innovative Drugs"To bring new treatment options to Chinese patients and quickly open up the Chinese market. To date, AstraZeneca has introduced more than 40 innovative drugs, covering important areas such as oncology, cardiovascular, renal, metabolism, respiratory, digestive, rare diseases, vaccines and antibodies, and autoimmunity.

Entering the 21st century, thanks to the rapid development of the Chinese market, AstraZeneca deeply felt that "pharmaceutical enterprises need to get closer to patients." Therefore, it increased its investment in China, built production and supply bases, and promoted..."Made in China, Locally Produced"Since the establishment of the Wuxi production and supply base, AstraZeneca has continuously increased its investment in production and supply in China. Today, the bases established by AstraZeneca in Wuxi, Taizhou, and Qingdao supply high-quality medicines to more than 70 markets worldwide, becoming an important part of AstraZeneca's global pharmaceutical supply chain.

Time has come to the third decade,"Embrace Chinese Innovation""become the development keyword of AstraZeneca.

After completing the accumulation in drug sales and manufacturing, AstraZeneca has launchedNew Drug Development in China, successively established the China Innovation Center and the China New Drug Research and Development Department. In 2019, AstraZeneca's China New Drug Research and Development Department was upgraded to become the AstraZeneca Global R&D China Center, gaining greater influence and higher decision-making power within AstraZeneca’s global R&D landscape. Currently, AstraZeneca China’s R&D pipeline includes more than 200 projects, with a 100% synchronization rate for key projects with global research and development.

At the same time, AstraZeneca is alsoAccelerate Innovation Cooperation, focusing on the full-course management needs of patients, AstraZeneca has successively established five regional headquarters in China, promoting the integration of the medical industry chain according to local conditions, and boosting regional economic development and international cooperation.

As "bringing in and establishing stability" has matured and been successfully implemented, "going global" has become the key development phrase for AstraZeneca in the next decade.

In July 2023, AstraZeneca embarked on a journey to promote the international expansion of Chinese innovative enterprises and their achievements, yielding fruitful results: The maiden voyage to Brazil helped 16 Chinese companies delve into Brazil's healthcare industry and establish multiple collaborations; the second leg set sail for the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, assisting 13 peer enterprises in building communication and cooperation bridges with government departments, medical institutions, industry associations, and investment organizations in the Middle East.

A New Year,AstraZeneca Sets Sail Again, Announces "2024 Shanghai Biomedical Innovation Enterprises Collaboration Overseas Plan". This program will cover the emerging markets along the Belt and Road as well as developed countries in Europe, America, and Japan, in the form of reciprocal visits and对接, to assist 30 outstanding Shanghai enterprises in expanding overseas, and continuously promote cross-border cooperation and exchange in pharmaceutical innovation.

Leo Wang, Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca PLC, President of International Business and China" remarked, 'In recent years, China's innovation is accelerating towards a new stage of international development, with its position in the global medical industry continuously rising. As the birthplace of China’s modern pharmaceuticals industry and a highland for biopharmaceutical innovation, Shanghai's international influence is growing day by day. As a multinational pharmaceutical company rooted in China, AstraZeneca will continue to increase its investment in Chinese-style innovation, build bridges for innovation cooperation between China and overseas, promote more partnerships, and contribute to the acceleration of local medical innovation achievements in areas such as R&D and treatment innovations. This will help the local medical industry integrate more deeply into the global medical trend.' "

In order to serve as a bridge for communication between Chinese innovative companies and the world, AstraZeneca has made thorough preparations.Promote "the combination of Chinese and Western" in multiple aspects such as R&D, investment, and ecosystem construction., injecting vitality into the globalization and development of China's medical industry.

Taking the construction of an ecosystem as an example, AstraZeneca has built a diversified international health innovation ecosystem driven by "three key components": the China Smart Health Innovation Center, the International Life Science Innovation Park, and the AstraZeneca Zhongjin Healthcare Industry Fund. This ecosystem provides comprehensive resource support for the robust growth and international development of innovative companies in China.

Currently, the full-course management solutions for major disease areas in China developed by the China Smart Health Innovation Center have not only been implemented in thousands of hospitals across China, but some solutions have also benefited patients in overseas countries and regions; nearly 140 domestic and foreign enterprises have settled in the International Life Science Innovation Park; AstraZeneca Zhongjin Healthcare Industry Fund currently manages over 3 billion yuan and has successfully invested in nearly 20 enterprises.

"In China, for China" is not just a simple slogan. From introducing global innovative drugs to emphasizing Chinese production, accelerating R&D alignment with international standards, and building an international innovation ecosystem, AstraZeneca has consistently focused on localization efforts, actively embracing the rapidly evolving Chinese market while continuously fulfilling its long-term commitment to "rooting in China, serving China, and benefiting the world."