AstraZeneca to build new production line in Taizhou

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the Taizhou National Medical High-tech Development Zone in Jiangsu province inked an investment cooperation agreement to build a new production line on Jan 13.

According to the agreement, the company will spend 190 million yuan ($26.5 million) to build a new production line for Dapagliflozin and Metformin Hydrochloride, a diabetes therapy that was marketed in China last November.

AstraZeneca said it plans to turn the Taizhou base into a global production and supply base for the company's diabetes products. The base is expected to have an annual output value of 10 billion yuan.

"Taizhou has actively promoted the 'Healthy China' Initiative in recent years. We'll continue to build and improve our scientific and technological innovation system in the face of the vigorous development of cutting-edge technologies and innovative achievements in the global biopharmaceutical industry," said Ye Donghua, vice-mayor of Taizhou.

The investment was announced at an industry conference about the comprehensive prevention and control of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia as well as three major chronic diseases: chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

More than 1,000 experts and scholars in the fields of cardiovascular, renal and metabolism attended the conference hosted by the Taizhou city government and discussed the applications of innovative integrated diagnosis and treatment solutions in these disease fields.

Ge Junbo, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and director of the cardiology department of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, said that early, comprehensive management of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and hyperglycemia is vital to the protection of patients' hearts and kidneys.

"At the meantime, it will mean a lot to the patients' health if medical teams from nephrology, endocrinology, and respiration join for close cooperation," he said.