(Yicai) Oct. 16 -- Eli Lilly and Company will establish the Lilly China Medical Innovation Center and Lilly Gateway Lab in Beijing to promote clinical research and accelerate drug research and development, the US pharmaceutical giant's China arm said on social media yesterday. It follows the unit’s announcement on Oct. 11 that it will be expanding capacity at its Suzhou plant.

The Lilly China Medical Innovation Center will serve as a hub for Eli Lilly's research and development in China, pushing for medical innovations and the development of breakthrough therapies via tie-ups with scientific research bodies at home and abroad, it said.

The Beijing center will be incorporated as an independent legal entity, expanding Eli Lilly's presence in China from Suzhou and Shanghai, said Huzur Devletsah, president and general manager of Lilly China.

Lilly Gateway Labs, which is an innovation hub for biotech firms, will be committed to identifying and supporting high-potential biotech firms still in the early stage of R&D. It will be Eli Lilly’s first Lilly Gateway Lab outside of the US.

The Lilly China Medical Innovation Center and Lilly Gateway Lab will further advance Eli Lilly's 100-year business plan, said the firm's Chief Science Officer Daniel Skovronsky. The new center will empower the company's exploration of new-type clinical research, speeding up patients' acquisition of breakthrough therapies, he added.

Eli Lilly has won permits in China for 40 drugs or new medical indications since 2018, according to information disclosed by the Indianapolis-based company earlier. More than half of these have already gained entry to the country’s bulk-buy medical insurance scheme.

Eli Lilly said on Oct. 11 that is investing CNY1.5 billion (USD210.7 million) to expand capacity at its Suzhou plant. The funds will be used to boost the factory’s output of innovative drugs for Type 2 diabetes and obesity to better meet demand in China.

Editor: Kim Taylor