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Novartis investing $1B in China R&D ops
Novartis plans to pump a billion dollars into its R&D operations in China over the next five years, expanding its scientific ranks in the Asian economic powerhouse from 160 to 1,000 as the pharma giant constructs a new research complex designed to rival centers in Europe and the U.S.
The pharma giant is expanding its Institute for BioMedical Research in Shanghai and will invest $250 million to build a global technical center--for research and manufacturing--in Changshu. Once its plans are completed, Novartis will have the largest biopharma R&D operation in China. Like other pharma companies, Novartis is investing heavily in China to position itself in a market that is expected to grow by leaps and bounds. At the same time, the move is part of the growing trend to offshore research work in order to cut costs. Novartis wants to rely more on Chinese scientists, who typically require only a fraction of the salaries demanded in Europe and the U.S.
"We are confident that our expanded investment in R&D will result in innovative therapies for patients in China and other countries nurtured by the growing scientific excellence in China," said chief executive Daniel Vasella. "You have to ask yourself where do you need to be down the road, and clearly it is here."
- read the Novartis release
- here's the story from the AFP
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Comments
By Orca159 | Posted 5:04pm | November 3, 2009
Another evidence of the recent past and continuing 'Global Economy' Corporate business strategies,if we can't beat them with sound business and fair trade practices, just join them and support their economic growth and might. The transfer of jobs and manufacturing and wealth to China continues unabated.
By Zoe Vomberg | Posted 11:37pm | November 5, 2009
I am sickened to read that pharma is outsourcing science. It leaves the U.S. without the brilliant minds and talent which keeps it at the forefront of technology, nevermind the moral issue of denying U.S. researchers the ability to work. In the long run if this continues, the Western World risks losing its technological edge. Soon, we will be at the mercy of China to make the basic science discoveries and come up with drugs and therapies. What is the point of educating scientists when there is no longer a need for them. Scientists are generally very under paid compared to other fields in the U.S., so it is laughable to think that salary costs are an issue. The true corporate ethos of cutting costs will also undoubtedly entail the use of animals for research that won't be under the same animal protections in place in the US.
By Anonymous | Posted 10:59am | November 6, 2009
Zoe - are you joking?! You can probably get 4 fully qualified PhD chemists in China who will work 16 hour days compared to the one 9am-5pm PhD you could afford in the States. Salary costs are a MASSIVE issue!!
Discovery chemistry is now all about volume. Big Pharma wants an army of cheap robots to chase as many leads as possible. That is achieveable in China/India, not the US/Western Europe. Novartis is pretty much the only big company yet to announce significant layoffs - give it a couple of years to get China up and running and they'll be firing US/UK/Ch scientists left, right and center.
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