"What I thought about before, I didn't expect it to happen now." On the sidelines of the 2021 Zhongguancun Forum Global Entrepreneur Innovation Forum, Wang Lei, Global Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca, was interviewed by a client reporter of Beijing Daily. Wang Lei predicts that in the next 5 to 10 years, China's worldwide innovation achievements in the field of biotechnology will appear in droves.
As a global biopharmaceutical company driven by innovation, 2021 is already the 28th year that AstraZeneca has entered China, and it is also its second appearance at the Zhongguancun Forum. After 28 years in China, the vast market here is constantly providing new opportunities for the world's top 500 pharmaceutical company. According to the disclosure, in 2020, AstraZeneca China's revenue has exceeded 20% of the total global revenue to reach $5.4 billion. To achieve such a speed of development, it is inseparable from China's efforts to improve the business environment.
"One of the most obvious changes is that drug approvals are in line with international standards." Wang Lei said that in the past, China's new drug listing speed was many years behind the international market, and now, not only can it be almost synchronized with the international community, some new drugs can even be listed 1 to 2 years earlier than the EU. For example, AstraZeneca's new drug roxametha in Yizhuang, which is the first in China, can be used to treat anemia caused by chronic kidney disease (CKD) in patients undergoing dialysis treatment.
Another significant change that Wang Lei feels is the rapid improvement of China's new drug creation ability, local pharmaceutical companies are no longer satisfied with only generic drugs, and "me-too" and "me-better" new drugs have sprung up. "Worrisha, jointly developed by AstraZeneca and Hehuang Pharmaceuticals, was conditionally approved in China in June this year, which is the first in the world." Wang Lei said bluntly that China's research level in gene therapy, cell therapy and other aspects has been in the world's leading position, he has reason to believe that China's biomedicine in the future will not only follow the development of the world, but also will "overtake in the bend" and lead the development of the world, "In the next 5 to 10 years, China's world-wide innovation achievements in the field of biotechnology will appear in groups, and the world's first will probably no longer be news." ”
As a multinational pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca does not want to miss the opportunity to participate in Chinese innovation. It has set itself an initial goal of investing in 100 Chinese innovators over the next five years and working with local pharmaceutical companies to develop 50 new drugs.
In fact, in May this year, AstraZeneca's headquarters in northern China has landed in the Beijing Economic Development Zone, and will undertake its functions such as new drug research and development, operation management, marketing and sales in North China, Northeast China and other regions in the future. Wang Lei mentioned that Beijing is full of many scientific research institutions and clinical medical institutions, and the development of high technology such as information technology, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence is also booming, and he hopes to make good use of these innovative achievements and work with more partners to create an ecosystem in various therapeutic fields and help Beijing build a highland for new drug research and development.
"In Zhongguancun, a number of world-class enterprises have been incubated, and imagine that the future cooperation space will be huge." Wang Lei said.