The investments come amid an ongoing insurance fraud probe into AstraZeneca’s former China head Leon Wang—and despite mounting pressure from President Trump for pharma companies to re-shore their manufacturing operations.
AstraZeneca is betting big money on China, unveiling plans to establish a new global strategic center in the country, alongside a pair of high-value deals with Chinese biotechs. With potential milestone payments, the pharma is putting more than $10 billion overall on the line,
In a Friday news release, AstraZeneca unveiled a $2.5 billion investment in Beijing, set to be paid out over the next five years, with an eye toward establishing its sixth global strategic R&D center there. The new research facility will focus on early-stage studies and clinical development, and will “partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing,” CEO Pascal Soriot said in the statement.
Alongside its $2.5 billion manufacturing pledge, AstraZeneca on Friday also inked a handful of research collaborations.
With Harbour BioMed, based in Shanghai, AstraZeneca will discover and develop next-generation multispecific antibodies. For $175 million upfront and the promise of up to $4.4 billion in development and commercial milestones, AstraZeneca will have the option to license two preclinical immunology programs and will be able to nominate additional targets down the line.
AstraZeneca on Friday also joined hands with Beijing-based Syneron Bio to advance oral macrocyclic peptides. AstraZeneca made a $75 million upfront payment and pledged up to $3.4 billion in milestones. The partners have yet to reveal priority indications, only announcing that they will target “chronic diseases, including rare, autoimmune, and metabolic disease.”
The pharma also announced that it will work with the Beijing Cancer Hospital for translational research, data science and clinical development, and will also launch a joint vaccine venture with BioKangtai.
AstraZeneca’s hefty investment comes amid mounting political pressure on the company—both domestically and internationally. In late 2024, news broke that Chinese authorities were looking into AstraZeneca’s former China president Leon Wang for alleged insurance fraud, according to local financial-focused publication Yicai, which also noted that other top pharma officials were under investigation. Wang was detained by Chinese authorities late last year, and as of February AstraZeneca has said it has had no access to him.
Then, last month, during the company’s fourth-quarter and full-year business report, AstraZeneca announced that it was facing a fine of up to approximately $4.5 million in China, in connection with missed import taxes.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has also been pressuring pharma companies to bring their manufacturing operations to the U.S., reportedly threatening them with tariffs if they don’t. Eli Lilly has since announced a $27 billion infusion into its U.S. operations, earmarked for the construction of four new manufacturing plants to be built over the next five years.
J&J followed suit, announcing last week that it will pump $55 billion into its U.S. manufacturing and R&D footprint, to be disbursed over the next four years. The money will help the pharma construct three manufacturing plants as well as expand existing sites for its medicines and MedTech units.
