Pharma giant AstraZeneca is pledging $15bn to fund an R&D and manufacturing capacity expansion in China – marking a significant investment into a country touted as an up-and-coming pharma powerhouse.
The multi-billion-dollar investment, which is set to run through to 2030, will see AstraZeneca improve its cell therapy and radioconjugate discovery, development and manufacturing capabilities in China. This will help to support the company’s pipeline ambitions across the oncology, haematology and autoimmune disease areas.
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This cash injection will also allow the UK-Swedish pharma to further develop existing manufacturing facilities in Wuxi, Beijing, Qingdao and Taizhou, while funding the construction of new facilities across the country. AstraZeneca’s four operational manufacturing facilities in China already serve patients in the country, as well as those across 70 other global markets.
According to the company, its investment will also facilitate the further expansion of its “substantial” R&D network in China, which includes strategic centres in Beijing and Shanghai.
AstraZeneca’s announcement coincides with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s three-day visit to Beijing, which aims to deepen economic ties and rebuild relations between the two nations.
In a 29 January statement, Starmer spoke warmly of AstraZeneca’s $15bn pledge, noting that the company’s Chinese footprint expansion will “help the British manufacturer continue to grow”. This comes at a time when experts fear that the UK could lose its position as a global life sciences hub due to the nation’s perceived lack of investment into innovative drugs.
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By GlobalDataAstraZeneca’s expansion moves in China also align with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s push to enact the Healthy China 2030 strategy, which marks the first medium-to-long-term health scheme employed in the country since the state’s founding in 1949. Under this policy, Jinping hopes to improve healthcare quality across China, while focusing on disease prevention to support public health.
China’s pharma influence grows
In recent months, there has been a notable buzz around China’s growing presence in pharma R&D – primarily driven by regulatory and policy reforms within the country. As per a recent report from GlobalData, parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, Chinese companies are responsible for 20% of the drugs in development globally.
There has also been a significant uptick in innovative medicines R&D in China, as the country’s biotech and pharma companies move away from their focus on generics and ‘me too’ medicines. This trend has seen many global pharma players secure lucrative drug licensing deals and restock their pipelines with Chinese biotechs.
AstraZeneca is one of the companies leading the dealmaking charge with Chinese biotech, with the pharma having signed several high-value licensing deals involving companies across the region in 2025. This includes its $5.2bn agreement with CSPC from June 2025.
According to experts previously interviewed by Pharmaceutical Technology, high-value oncology deals will continue to be a strong growth drive for China’s pharma industry into 2026.
