GlaxoSmithKline is sinking $100 million into a neuroscience research center in China that will play a pivotal role in its ongoing drug discovery work. R&D chief Moncef Slaoui says that Glaxo's new center in Shanghai will be primarily responsible for work on new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But don't think of this as an outsourcing deal, he adds. "It's about different science," he tells the Financial Times. "We will link our fate to their fate. Within five to ten years we will be moving from 'made in China' to 'discovered in China'."
Glaxo isn't alone in changing the stamp on drugs to 'discovered in China'. Roche, Novartis, Sanofi and many other pharma giants are clustering their research efforts in China, with most flocking to Shanghai.
- see GSK's release on the R&D center
- read the Financial Times report for more