The Swiss pharma giant Novartis has announced plans to build an integrated biomedical Research & Development centre in Shanghai's Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park that will become an integral part of the Group's global research and development network.

The establishment of this strategic site is a commitment by Novartis to conduct cutting-edge pharmaceutical research and development in China. It will also enable further expansion of the strong network of existing R&D alliances that Novartis has in China, a Novartis press release stated.

Research and development activities at the site will initially focus on addressing urgent medical needs in China and Asia, particularly infectious causes of cancer endemic to the region.

"The level of scientific expertise in China is rising rapidly. At the same time, the healthcare needs of the Chinese are growing, primarily the result of urbanization, lifestyle changes and associated chronic diseases," said Dr. Daniel Vasella chairman and CEO of Novartis. "The Shanghai centre will allow us to combine modern drug discovery approaches with those of traditional Chinese medicine that have been used to treat patients in China for thousands of years. This new research centre will help Novartis contribute to the needs of patients in China and elsewhere and has the potential to become a global centre for biomedical innovation."

The centre will become the eighth site within Novartis Research and Development network. It will be staffed primarily by scientists recruited from Shanghai's emerging cluster of innovative academic, biotech and pharmaceuticals research institutions.

Scientists will initially work in a 5,000 square meter start-up facility that is expected to open in May 2007. Construction of a permanent 38,000 square meter facility for approximately 400 Scientists will begin in July 2007. An investment of USD 100 million has been planned for the design and construction of the two facilities.

According to the release, an initial area of research will be infectious causes of cancer. One disease is liver cancer caused by the hepatitis viruses. Some one-third of the 400 million people infected with the hepatitis B virus are in China, with experts estimating that the virus kills 300,000 people in mainland China each year.

"Shanghai is clearly emerging as a new epicentre of science globally, and is a magnet for the best and the brightest investigators. It is a perfect location for exploring novel scientific approaches for the discovery of new medicines that will ultimately benefit patients in China and around the world," said Dr. Mark Fishman, President of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

The site will also include an integrated exploratory development centre that will closely collaborate with basic research and local academic centres to further develop the concept of mechanism-based medicine and leverage emerging new technologies.

"Our activities in the new R&D centre will go far beyond conducting early clinical trials by expanding drug discovery with translational medicine principles enhanced with safety investigations, biomarker detection and bio-analytics as well as gene expression profiling. We aim to complement the search of useful and safe medicines with diagnostic tools to support local and global R&D efforts," said Dr. Jean Jacques Garaud, Global Head of Exploratory Development at Novartis Pharma AG.

Novartis and its predecessor companies have been active in China since 1938 when Ciba opened its office in Shanghai, initially entering the country as a provider of dyestuff and later expanding into pharmaceuticals through steady investments.