Roche to set up R&D center in China

Basel, Switzerland-headquartered global health care giant Roche has anounced plans to establish a new R&D center in Shanghai, the heart of China's biotechnology community. The R&D center at Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in Shanghai will be wholly-owned and operated by Roche, and is the first to be established at the site by a global health care company.

Roche intends to have the center fully operational by the end of 2004, with an initial staff of 40 chemists. In order to support medicinal chemistry, discovery at the plant will primarily concentrate on key chemical building blocks and focused libraries. Efforts at the Shanghai-based center will be aligned with discovery research at other Roche sites worldwide.

The new facility will strengthen Roche's global research presence, and its investment in R&D China will enable successful interaction with authorities on matters regarding the further development of the company in this market. Subjects likely to be approached with the authorities include protection of intellectual property, the New Drug Application review process and drug pricing.