French pharma giant Sanofi has opened its first research hub in Asia and hopes the Shanghai facility will strengthen its regional links with external research partners.
The new site, which will create 1,400 new jobs, will integrate Sanofi’s existing capabilities in biopharma, animal health, rare diseases and vaccines in 12 countries in the region.
Dr Jiang Ningjun, president of Sanofi’s Asia R&D headquarters, said setting up the Shanghai facility would allow the company to be more flexible and response to the diverse needs of the region.
The base would also allow Sanofi to make more of the development opportunities on offer, he added.
Alongside the establishment of the new hub Sanofi also revealed it will be working the GPCR Institute, a network of research centres focused on biopharma research, and local biotech firm Zai Lab.
The company has more than 50 collaborative projects with partners in the Asia Pacific region already and plans to accelerate its introduction of innovative drugs into the Chinese market.
Frank Jiang, VP and head of the Asia-Pacific R&D hub, told the Shanghai Daily: “Asia Pacific is home to a wide spectrum of healthcare needs and we are excited to enhance our ability to capture opportunities and to respond to changing market demands.”
Sanofi first set up its R&D hub in China in 2005 and has gradually expanded its presence. As Sanofi’s fifth research hub the Shanghai site joins sites in the US, France and Germany.
Its opening comes at a troublesome time for pharma in China, the low point of which has seen GSK fined 3bn yuan – approximately $487m – for bribery and sentenced five executives for up to four years in prison.