Beijing (Reuters) – Merck will establish a new headquarters in
research and development for Asia in Beijing and commit
investment by 1.5 billion dollars in China during the
next five years.
The second largest United States pharmaceutical
it will eventually employ about 360 scientists in their new
facilities, told reporters Peter Kim, President of Merck
Research Laboratories. The decision makes Merck the most
recent pharmaceutical in expanding its presence in China.
“Have plans to invest in research and development in
“
all phases of discovery and development of vaccines,
starting with the basics of the discovery and following all the
“
path to the programs of clinical trials”, said Kim.
“We see opportunities to include China in our
“”
clinical trials globally for drugs and vaccines”,
added.
Several drug companies, including Pfizer, Abbott and Novartis,
they have made large investments in China in recent years
seeking to take advantage of low costs and the presence of
qualified scientists
Merck also seeks to partner with biotech companies
and academic institutions to develop new drugs,
said Kim.
Drugs and vaccines developed in Beijing will not be
intended only to market Chinese or Asian, but markets
global, said Kim, but not detailed in which diseases are
focus the research.
In an interview with Reuters at the end of 2010, the
pharmaceutical expressed the hope that the emerging markets
represent a larger portion of their sales in the
next years due to the explosion of chronic diseases
such as hypertension and diabetes.
At that time said that the focus would be in seven paÃs:
Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia, Korea of the South and Turkey.
