Yangtze Delta Expected To Be Largest CRO Cluster By 2015
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
SUZHOU, China - China's Yangtze delta, which includes Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing and Hangzhou, will be the largest CRO cluster in the world by 2015 and Shanghai will be the number one city in the world by number of scientists engaged in commercial drug discovery, Kewen Jin, GM of Charles River China, said during the BioBay Investor Forum in Suzhou Aug. 28
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SUZHOU, China - China's Yangtze delta, which includes Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing and Hangzhou, will be the largest CRO cluster in the world by 2015 and Shanghai will be the number one city in the world by number of scientists engaged in commercial drug discovery, Kewen Jin, GM of Charles River China, said during the BioBay Investor Forum in Suzhou Aug. 28. A Spring For China's Life Sciences Industry "China's Life Sciences Industry has a great chance to develop well with a good environment and sufficient human resources," Jin told meeting attendees. "Global Pharma needs cost-effective innovative solutions to increase R&D productivity," he said. "A resurgent China can provide state-of-art infrastructure, a growing market, a vast local talent pool and industry-seasoned returnees to them." Jin also said that Charles River will open its second China facility in the Suzhou Industry Park; the company has already begun the project. Charles River made its first major footprint in China via a joint venture with Shanghai BioExplorer last year (Also see "Charles River Laboratories VP Christopher Perkins On Building Preclinical Facilities In China: An Interview With PharmAsia News (Part 2 of 2)" - Scrip, 14 Jul, 2008.). According to Jin, 2,000 new patents will be filed annually in China and the life sciences industry will account for 10 percent of China's GDP by 2015, compared to the 100 new patents filed every year currently and the 5 percent GDP share. "Next-generation chemistry discovery CROs in China will grow swiftly up the value chain from lower and synthetic chemistry to high-end integrated medicinal chemistry, while first-generation [CROs] like Wuxi and ShangPharma [ChemPartner] have already reached that level," Jin said. "Preclinical biology CROs are poised for major growth and more clinical trials will move to China." "The Yangtze delta will be the largest R&D center in 2015, second only to New Jersey," he added. Investments in China About $236 million was injected into Chinese life sciences companies last year, compared to the $8 billion in U.S.-based companies, ChinaBio President Greg Scott told the forum. Roughly 80 percent of investments were from overseas investors, he said. "We have invested around $100 million in the Chinese market," Yi Shi, managing director for Shanghai-based Lilly Asian Ventures, said (Also see "Life Sciences Investors Talk Shop On Asia Opportunities – Singapore Conference" - Scrip, 28 Apr, 2008.). Lilly Asian Ventures is interested in companies engaged in outsourcing and innovation, particularly mid- and late-stage companies whose products are only one year away from entering clinical trials, according to Shi. "Government investments are a little different from VC investments in this regard," Yuwen Liu, GM of Biobay, a bioscience park funded by Suzhou Industry Park, said during the forum. The government invests in companies at different stages to establish the whole industry value chain, she said. Companies Moving To Yangtze Delta From Shanghai PegBio (previously called PanAsia), a company focusing on PEGylation technology, moved to Suzhou from Shanghai, after it managed to get funding (Also see "PanAsia Bio President Michael Xu: An Interview With PharmAsia News" - Scrip, 23 Jan, 2008.). "We are moving to Suzhou because of government support and good environment," PegBio CEO Michael Xu told PharmAsia News during the forum. GenePharma, a company developing RNA interference-related products and providing RNAi research services, also opened a 9,000 square foot facility in Suzhou in addition to its Shanghai facility in Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park (Also see "Alnylam Makes Entry Into Chinese RNAi Market" - Scrip, 24 Mar, 2008.). "A new life sciences park in Wuxi is under construction and will open next year," Linling Mao, an officer of the science and economy development department under the Wuxi Tech-park administrative committee, said in an interview. However, Jiayuan He, marketing manager for Bioon, an information provider in China, told PharmAsia News, that Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park still has an advantage because of pre-established platforms. Ten multinational pharmaceutical companies set up R&D centers in China by the end of 2007, most in the booming high-tech parks in Shanghai and Beijing. Servier Pharmaceutical and Novo Nordisk set up R&D centers in Beijing, while AstraZeneca, Lilly, Roche, Pfizer, Sanofi-Aventis, Holland DSM, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline have established various centers in Shanghai for R&D and clinical research (Also see "China Life Sciences Parks Look To Differentiate To Attract Big Pharma Business" - Scrip, 13 Jul, 2008.). - Jialing Dai ([email protected]) |