AstraZeneca Announces $2.5 Billion Investment to Establish Sixth Global R&D Centre in Beijing

24 March 2025 | Monday | News

The strategic partnership with the Beijing Municipal Government includes cutting-edge research, AI collaborations, and a new vaccine manufacturing facility, aiming to advance life sciences and innovation in China.
Picture Courtesy | Public Domain

Picture Courtesy | Public Domain

AstraZeneca announced an investment of $2.5 billion in Beijing to establish its sixth global strategic R&D centre together with major research and manufacturing agreements that will further advance life sciences in China. This investment over the next five years is part of a strategic partnership with the Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Office and includes agreements with three biotechs; Harbour BioMed, Syneron Bio, and BioKangtai, and follows the recent Fibrogen announcement. AstraZeneca expects its Beijing workforce to grow to 1,700 employees.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “This $2.5 billion investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China. Our sixth strategic R&D centre will partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing and be a critical part of our global efforts to bring innovative medicines to patients worldwide.”

The new global strategic R&D centre in Beijing, AstraZeneca’s second in China following the opening of the Shanghai R&D centre, will advance early-stage research and clinical development and will be enabled by a new state-of-the-art AI and data science laboratory. The new R&D centre will be located near leading biotechs, research hospitals, and the National Medical Products Administration in the Beijing International Pharmaceutical Innovation Park (BioPark). 

AstraZeneca is also establishing new R&D collaborations in Beijing. This includes a strategic partnership with the Beijing Cancer Hospital in translational research, data science, and clinical development. AstraZeneca is signing two collaboration and licensing agreements; one with Harbour BioMed to discover multi-specific antibodies, and one with Syneron Bio to develop macro-cyclic peptides.

In addition, AstraZeneca is launching a new joint venture with BioKangtai, to develop, manufacture, and commercialise innovative vaccines for respiratory and other infectious diseases for patients in China and around the world. This will be AstraZeneca’s first and only vaccine manufacturing facility in China, which will be located in the Beijing BioPark.

To support the development of the Beijing innovation ecosystem, Pascal Soriot, CEO AstraZeneca, has been invited to join the Beijing International Business Leaders Advisory Council (IBLAC).

Survey Box

Poll of the Week

Which area of biopharmaceutical research excites you the most?

× Please select an option to participate in the poll.
Processing...
× You have successfully cast your vote.
 {{ optionDetail.option }}  {{ optionDetail.percentage }}%
 {{ optionDetail.percentage }}% Complete
More polls
Stay Connected

Sign up to our free newsletter and get the latest news sent direct to your inbox

© 2025 Biopharma Boardroom. All Rights Reserved.

Show

Forgot your password?

Show

Show

Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link to create a new password.

Back to log-in

Close