(Yicai) Oct. 18 -- Bayer Consumer Health, a division of the German drug and biotech giant, has opened an innovation center in Shanghai that will develop novel health and self-care products tailored to the needs of Chinese consumers.

The inauguration ceremony for the China Center of Innovation and Partnership, in which Leverkusen-based Bayer has invested EUR20 million (USD21.7 million), was held on Oct. 16.

The CCIP is located in the Shanghai Biomedical Frontier Industry Innovation Center, a life sciences incubator that provides full support from concept to final product, speeding up the transformation of scientific research into new products. It was co-founded by 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 form local alliances in 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 bring together the pair's resources to co-develop new healthcare products and expand their market reach.

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

Bayer will also draw on its successful experience in the Chinese market to support market strategies in the Asia-Pacific and other regions, according to Arturo Sanchez, president of Bayer Consumer Health for Asia Pacific and Latin America.

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

The facility will expand Bayer's ability to manufacture oral solid dosage products for consumer health 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