(Yicai Global) May 22 -- British-Swedish drugs giant AstraZeneca will not hesitate in continuing to invest in pharmaceutical innovation and production in China, according to its executive vice president.

AstraZeneca has never doubted increasing its investment in China, and producing there is likely its best strategy to supply global customers, Leon Wang, who is also the firm's international president and China president, told Yicai Global at a media event on May 19.

Manufacturing in China allows AstraZeneca to have the world's largest capacity and lower costs, while the country has an astonishing level of consumption because of its large population and big market size, Wang noted.

Although some foreign firms treat China simply as a place for production and marketing, AstraZeneca sees it as one for innovation because the Cambridge, UK-based company has investment projects in the country, he added.

China spends a lot of time and energy on the research and development of basic science, Wang pointed out. Many overseas Chinese scientists are returning to start businesses and will form a huge innovation capability, so firms may regret it in the next decade if they do not invest in the country, he noted.

The R&D of innovative drugs is mainly divided into three phases, Wang said. The first is known as Me Too and serves to make improvements based on knockoffs; the second, or Me Better, is to make further improvements; and the third, called Me First, is to produce original innovations, according to Wang.

The possibility of innovative drugs emerging in the third phase in China is increasing, Wang noted, adding that they will appear collectively and exponentially.

Chinese firms should not be pessimistic and must have the ambition to become international enterprises, but should not be blindly optimistic and believe they can catch up or even surpass their peer groups in developed economies overnight, Wang stressed. AstraZeneca invests USD10 billion on R&D each year, which is more than the combined total spent by all listed Chinese pharmaceutical firms, he pointed out.

AstraZeneca China invested in a new plant in Qingdao, Shandong province, during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it will go on investing in producing in China because of the country's resilient manufacturing industry and supply chains, Wang told Yicai Global.

The firm also spends on local R&D projects, including various types of new drugs submitted for review by the National Medical Products Administration, and it will use China's innovations to supplement those of the world, he added.

AstraZeneca attaches great importance to its business in China and will continue to provide custom drugs and solutions to Chinese patients based on their needs, according to Wang. The firm will actively participate in the government's medical insurance system to offer lower-priced products to more Chinese people.

Wang’s biggest achievement since the end of the pandemic was inviting AstraZeneca's chairman, chief executive, and the person in charge of tumor treatment R&D to visit China, he said.

After visiting the firm’s local business and meeting with Chinese government officials, Wang is confident that the visitors will be more motivated to persuade AstraZeneca's other executives to put more resources into China, he noted.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev