AstraZeneca Outsources Drug Discovery Research To BioDuro For Respiratory And Inflammation Indications
This article was originally published in PharmAsia News
Executive Summary
SHANGHAI - AstraZeneca is expanding its research collaboration with contract research organization BioDuro to cooperate on drug discovery research in respiratory and inflammation diseases in China, the two companies announced March 23
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SHANGHAI - AstraZeneca is expanding its research collaboration with contract research organization BioDuro to cooperate on drug discovery research in respiratory and inflammation diseases in China, the two companies announced March 23. San Diego-based BioDuro with its major research facility in Beijing, China will provide discovery chemistry and biology services to AstraZeneca. BioDuro has more than 550 employees working in its Beijing research center. "We are always eager to explore innovation and science collaborations where we are presently not strong and China is one of those scientific powerhouses." Lena Martensson, AstraZeneca's director of Strategic Planning and Business Development told PharmAsia News. "We usually work on the model of joint project teams with tight weekly [meetings], Martensson added, noting that many Chinese CROs have reached global standards. "There is a breadth of CROs and academic centers in China that have excellent quality and we are working with quite a few such as WuXi AppTec." BioDuro was granted accreditation from the U.S. Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care in October 2008. The company also helped China's National Center for the Safety Evaluation of Drugs to achieve AAALAC accreditation in April 2008, which also signed a collaboration agreement with BioDuro in 2006. More and more multinational companies are increasing their R&D presence in China and are seeking local partners with different models. For example, Eli Lilly has established a long-term relationship with ChemPartner on preclinical research. Pfizer is expanding its research cooperation with Wuxi AppTec for invitro screening services on compound synthesis for Pfizer, and the two companies have worked together for many years in synthetic chemistry and parallel medicinal chemistry (Also see "Pfizer Increasing Size of China R&D Center, Expanding Virtual Research Network Through Alliances With Chinese Scientists, WuXi PharmaTech" - Scrip, 20 Nov, 2008.). Johnson & Johnson also is cooperating with Hutchison MediPharma through its subsidiary Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals whereby MediPharma will discover new drugs in inflammation and immunology, and J&J will have the option to commercialize these compounds (Also see "China’s Hutchison MediPharma Freezes Development Of Cancer Drug, Signs Development Deal With Janssen" - Scrip, 9 Jan, 2008.). Lilly and Merck also have similar risk-sharing deals with MediPharma. China's CRO Industry Sees 16 Percent Growth Meanwhile, China's CRO industry has become one of the most rapid growth sectors in China's healthcare market with the increased R&D projects. The increasing R&D investment makes for a fast-growing CRO market with huge potential in the future, Hans Yuan, a healthcare analyst in Frost & Sullivan's Shanghai office, told PharmAsia News. "A large talent pool, low-cost structure, government support and ease of access to laboratory resources positioned China as an attractive and competitive R&D destination. These advantages are leading to a more 'innovate in China' model taking the place of 'made in China'." During the last few years, the annual growth rate of investment in drug development was 8 percent, but the CRO market demonstrates a much higher growth rate at 16 percent, according to Yuan, who believes the relationship between multinational companies and local CROs are becoming more interdependent. Chinese CROs are also expanding their service cover to attract more global customers. Wuxi AppTec acquired U.S. biologics outfit AppTec Laboratory Services to provide more biologics service to its customers last year (Also see "China’s WuXi To Acquire U.S.-Based AppTec Laboratory Services" - Scrip, 15 Jan, 2008.). Sundia MediTech, a Shanghai-based CRO, formed an alliance with British CRO NovaSector to share resources and capitalize on the new opportunities (Also see "Chinese CRO Alliance Sets Eyes On Europe" - Scrip, 5 Mar, 2008.). Tigermed consulting, a Hangzhou-based CRO, formed CRO partnerships in Korea and Russia to provide registration and clinical research services for Chinese pharmaceutical companies that want to enter the Eastern European market and also to widen their Asian market (Also see "Chinese Tigermed Forms CRO Partnerships In Korea, Russia" - Scrip, 4 Dec, 2008.). - Dai Jialing ([email protected]) |