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On The Case
AstraZeneca invests Pounds 69m in China plant
Date of publication - 19 April 2001
AstraZeneca has inaugurated a Dollars 100m (Pounds 69m) manufacturing plant in China, one of the biggest pharmaceuticals investments in the country.
The plant, in Wuxi New District, 200km north west of Shanghai, will manufacture primarily for the domestic market, although the Anglo- Swedish company said it could eventually become a source of exports.
The plant, which will employ 280 people, has capacity to produce 1.5bn tablets and 70m capsules a year - including Losec, the company's top-selling treatment for ulcers.
Although China accounts for only a tiny percentage of AstraZeneca's sales, Tom McKillop, chief executive, said: "There are over 1bn people and it is potentially a very large market. I believe the prospects for new medicines coming into China are very good".
China is expected to become easier to operate in when the country joins the World Trade Organisation later this year. Until now, multinational companies have found regulations less than opaque, while pirating of patented medicines has been a big problem.
Companies with substantial investments in the country have tended to find the going easier.
Glaxo Wellcome spent Pounds 85m on a plant to manufacture a hepatitis B drug for which it received class 1 certification - giving it better protection against patent infringement.
AstraZeneca recently concluded an agreement with a Shanghai university to access DNA samples of schizophrenia patients in an attempt to link genetic variations with susceptibility to mental illness.
Other UK companies, such as Nycomed Amersham, have also expressed interest in conducting more genetic research in China, considered a big source of untapped scientific expertise.
Copyright: The Financial Times Limited
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