Advertise With UsAdvertise on our extensive network of industry websites and newsletters.
Get the PBR newsletterSign up to our free email to get all the latest PBR
news.France-based pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis has strengthened its R&D presence in China, with the expansion of its R&D facility in Shanghai, the new establishment of a biometrics center in Beijing, and the signature of a partnership agreement with the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences for the discovery of breakthrough drugs for neurological diseases, diabetes and cancer.
Subscribe to our email newsletter
This R&D expansion in China will allow the rapid growth of clinical programs and aims to encompass all activities, from drug-target identification to late-stage clinical studies, the company said.
The biometrics center has recently been completed in Beijing to support global and local trials in both pharmaceuticals and vaccines development. This center will be devoted to the study design, data management and statistical analysis of global and local Phase I-IV clinical trials. Planned to be fully operational by the end of 2008, it will enable to sustain the rapid growth of the R&D to support global and local registration trials and to broaden the scope of clinical operations in China, said Sanofi-Aventis.
In order to collaborate to identify innovative, first-in-class drugs, Sanofi-Aventis said that it has recently established a strategic partnership with the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS) – a subsidiary of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, representing eight institutes active in life sciences. This partnership is part of the China Discovery platform that Sanofi-Aventis has set up in order to establish productive and long-term relationships with top Chinese academic institutions.
In addition, the first Sanofi-Aventis scholarship program in China has been launched to recognize and develop the most promising Chinese scientists, engaged in pharmaceutical R&D in the fields of structural chemistry, biology and pharmacology.
Jia-Rui Wu, vice president of the SIBS, said: “This collaboration agreement brings pharmaceutical R&D in China to another level, by allowing talented Chinese scientists to become internationally recognized and ensuring that discoveries made in the area of basic research are rapidly converted into applications for treating diseases. It will benefit patients in China and beyond.”
Marc Cluzel, senior vice president of R&D at Sanofi-Aventis, said: “We have found a welcoming environment and a huge talent pool in China to expand our R&D activities. Diversity and cross fertilization allow exploring new avenues of research and strategic alliances are the way to remain at the cutting edge in therapeutic expertise and innovation.”