(Yicai) Jan. 15 -- UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca plans to invest CNY190 million (USD26.7 million) to build a new production line at its Taizhou base in China to make a new diabetes drug approved for marketing in the country last year.

AstraZeneca inked an investment and cooperation deal with the Taizhou Medical Hi-Tech Zone on Jan. 13 to build a production line to make Xigduo XR, dapagliflozin and metformin hydrochloride extended-release tablets used for the treatment of adults with type-two diabetes, Yicai learned at the signing ceremony.

With 141 million diabetes patients, 90 percent of whom have type-2 diabetes, China has a great demand for hypoglycemic drugs, according to the latest statistics. In recent years, China has approved several overseas new hypoglycemic drugs, including Xingduo XR, Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk’s Semaglutide, and French drugmaker Sanofi’s Soliqua.

AstraZeneca’s Taizhou production base in China’s eastern Jiangsu province went into operation in 2014 to supply diabetes products globally. It is expected to have an annual output value of CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) after the new production line comes on stream, Yicai learned.

Dapagliflozin tablets, AstraZeneca’s leading diabetes product, are also manufactured at the Taizhou base. China sales of Dapagliflozin tablets are expected to top USD1 billion this year, surpassing those of lung cancer-targeting drug Tagrisso to become AstraZeneca’s first product in the country, Yicai also learned.

AstraZeneca has invested over USD2 billion and introduced nearly 40 innovative drugs in China since it entered the market in 1993. In the first three quarters of last year, the firm’s sales in China reached USD4.5 billion, accounting for about 13 percent of its global sales.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione