Novartis (Basel, Switzerland) plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years to increase research and development (R&D) activities in China, including a significant expansion of The Novartis Institute of BioMedical Research (CNIBR) in Shanghai. "We are confident that our expanded investment in R&D will result in innovative therapies for patients in China and other countries nurtured by the growing scientific excellence in China," said Novartis Chairman and CEO Daniel Vasella, in a company release.

"We are also pleased to contribute to the Shanghai government's aim to establish the city as the premiere R&D center for China's bio-medicine industry by 2012, as Novartis is committed to investing to further the Chinese government's strategy for stimulating economic growth, stability and enhancing the livelihood of the Chinese people."

Specifically, the Chinese government is aiming to provide all citizens with access to affordable, basic healthcare by 2020, involving a $124-billion investment over the next three years. Other government plans include improving the country’s informatio- technology systems and strengthening the nation’s pharmaceutical production quality and safety, according to the release. The Novartis Institute for BioMedical Research in Shanghai, located in Zhangjiang High-tech Park, specializes in R&D of small-molecule and biologics for diseases prevalent in China.

The new expanded institute will be located in a new state-of-the-art campus in Shanghai, according to the Novartis release, and will increase collaboration with other Chinese institutes. The Institute will work on analytics and biomarkers, in vivo pharmacology, protein production, characterization and scale-up screening, chemistry and proteomics, genomics, and imaging. The center is expected to be the largest comprehensive R&D center in China, with associate positions increasing from 160 to nearly 1000. In related news, Novartis is investing $250 million in a new global technical center in Changshu, China, for technical R&D as well as active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing.