Business
Novartis plans R&D center at Shanghai http://www.ndtvprofit.com/homepage/storybusinessnew.asp?template=&whichstory=n&id=34496
Monday, November 6, 2006 (Shanghai):
Novartis AG announced on Monday that it plans for a $100 million integrated research and development center in Shanghai.
It will initially focus on cancers prevalent in China, such as liver, stomach and nose and throat cancers.
The center, to be built in a science park in the city's eastern suburbs of Pudong, is expected to open in a temporary facility by May 2007, with a larger permanent site to begin operations later in 2007.
"The level of scientific expertise in China is rising rapidly. At the same time, the healthcare needs of the Chinese are growing, primarily the result of urbanization, lifestyle changes and associated chronic diseases," said Daniel Vasella, Chairman, Novartis.
The widespread prevalence of hepatitis, which can lead to liver cancer, makes China a good location for studying the disease, he noted.
"This new research center will help Novartis contribute to the needs of patients in China and elsewhere and has the potential to become a global center for biomedical innovation," he added.
Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis chose Shanghai primarily because of its large pool of experts working at local universities and research centers, said Mark Fishman, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.
Novartis invested about $4.8 billion in research and development in 2005.
The $100 million represents spending on the Shanghai research center over the first three years of its construction and operation, company executives said.
The company already has a partnership with a local research institute, the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, and collaborates with a local drug manufacturer, Wuxi PharmaTech Co. (AP)