French pharma major Sanofi has announced its plans to invest approximately €1bn to establish a new insulin production facility in Beijing, China.
This will be the French drugmaker’s largest single investment in China and will focus on serving the insulin medication needs of local diabetic patients.
Sanofi signed a cooperation agreement in this connection with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology and the BDA Administrative Committee.
The new facility will be built in Yizhuang, in Beijing’s southern area. This will be Sanofi’s fourth production and supply base in China.
Sanofi board of directors chairman Frédéric Oudéa said: “We are pleased to announce this investment on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. Sanofi is firmly optimistic about the long-term development of the Chinese market.
“The Chinese government’s policy of opening up to the outside world and encouraging innovation, as well as the good business environment created for foreign-funded enterprises, have injected strong confidence into Sanofi’s deep participation in China’s economic development and the high-quality development of the pharmaceutical industry.
“We hope that Sanofi’s expanding production and supply layout will enhance our cooperation with upstream and downstream of China’s local industrial chain and bring long-term support to the high-level development of China’s pharmaceutical and health industry.”
The new production base will feature advanced automated technologies, digital management systems, and sustainable environmental standards.
This initiative will boost the company’s supply-chain resilience and help meet the growing needs of diabetes patients, according to Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson.
The new Beijing insulin production base, along with the recently expanded Beijing base, and production sites in Shenzhen and Hangzhou, are expected to ensure quality production capacity for Sanofi in China.
The pharma giant said that these bases are crucial for its deep involvement in advancing the pharmaceutical industry’s high-quality productivity in China. Together, they will support the daily drug and vaccine needs of patients in China and surrounding markets.
Last month, Sanofi disclosed that it was in exclusive talks to sell a 50% stake in its consumer health business, Opella, to US-based private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) for around €16bn.
