(Yicai) Oct. 27 -- AstraZeneca has opened a major new global research and development center in Beijing, the UK-Swedish drug giant’s sixth globally and second in China, as part of a USD2.5 billion China investment plan.

Located in the Beijing International Pharmaceutical Innovation Park (BioPark) near leading biotechnology firms, research hospitals, and the National Medical Products Administration, the new R&D center was officially opened on Oct. 25.

As a core part of AstraZeneca’s investment plan for China announced this March, the center has cutting-edge artificial intelligence and data science facilities to advance early-stage research and clinical development.

The Cambridge-based company now has about 1,700 employees in Beijing, who are expected to strengthen its R&D abilities in China, while helping the city consolidate its position as a key global hub for life sciences.

The center will leverage Beijing’s world-leading scientific ecosystem and AI advantages to hasten the development of new-generation innovative drugs, offering new treatment possibilities for patients in China and globally, AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot said at the Innovation Ecosystem Forum in Beijing on Oct. 25.

It will ramp up partnerships with local hospitals, universities, and biotech firms to nurture innovation and coordinate with AstraZeneca’s Shanghai R&D hub to spearhead drug discovery and clinical development, accelerating the path from innovation to life-changing medicines, Soriot added.

The firm’s Shanghai R&D center was inaugurated in October 2021 with the aim of aim of advancing the research, development, and clinical trials of new medicines, both from China and overseas.

AstraZeneca entered China in 1993 and regards the country as a strategic market. To date, it has brought more than 40 innovative drugs to the country. Beyond its Beijing and Shanghai R&D centers, the company also runs manufacturing hubs in Wuxi, Taizhou, and Qingdao, supplying medicines to over 70 markets worldwide.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione