(Yicai) Oct. 18 -- Bayer Consumer Health, a division of German pharmaceutical titan Bayer, has opened its China Center of Innovation and Partnership with a total investment of around EUR20 million (USD21.7 million) in Shanghai.

The CCIP aims to develop innovative products tailored to Chinese consumers' needs in the health and self-care sectors, the Leverkusen-based company said during an inauguration ceremony on Oct. 16.

The CCIP is located within the Shanghai Biomedical Frontier Industry Innovation Center, an incubator for life sciences innovations that provides full support from concept to final product for innovative projects of resident firms, speeding up the transformation of scientific research into new products. It was co-founded by pharma giant Shanghai Pharmaceuticals and leading local universities and research institutions. 

Bayer's new center will leverage the SBFIIC's policy, industrial, and ecosystem advantages, He Yong, general manager of Bayer Consumer Health China, told Yicai. This will enable Bayer to make local alliances on innovative research and development projects, potentially enhancing the city's competitiveness in the global healthcare industry, he added.

During the opening ceremony, Bayer Consumer Health also signed an agreement with Shanghai Pharmaceuticals to combine the pair's resources to co-develop new healthcare products and expand market reach.

China is Bayer's second-largest consumer health products market globally, noted Julio Triana, president of Bayer Consumer Health and member of Bayer's management board. The company's business in the Chinese market is experiencing rapid growth, he added.

Bayer will also leverage its successful experiences in the Chinese market to provide strong support for implementing market strategies in the Asia Pacific and other regions, said Arturo Sanchez, president of Bayer Consumer Health for Asia Pacific and Latin America.

In May, Bayer announced that it will build a new consumer health supply center in Shanghai's neighboring Qidong in eastern Jiangsu province, which will likely be ready by 2028. The project's first phase, with an investment of CNY600 million (USD84.2 million), will likely go live by 2026, it added

The new production facility will expand Bayer's existing consumer health oral solid dosage production capability in Qidong to support its portfolio of products, future new products, and its export business in China, the firm noted.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev