Johnson & Johnson launches health care research centre in China

US health care giant Johnson & Johnson announced yesterday the establishment of a major research centre and open platform in Shanghai to help develop innovative new drugs aimed at tackling diseases such as hepatitis and lung cancer while addressing the unmet health needs of Chinese patients.

The centre is a step forward in tapping the vast health and drug market, mobilising global investors and scientists to nurture early discoveries and turn them into clinical applications against a variety of diseases.

"The major differentiator will be innovation which will strengthen our R&D capability and enrich our [drug] pipeline," Jesse Wu, the chairman of J&J China, told the South China Morning Post.

"We used to invest in manufacturing in China and develop the market, but the model, we believe, is not enough to bolster our future growth."

J&J said the centre will be an ecosystem designed to convene global start-ups, venture capitalists, research institutions and talent to commercialise innovative research into medical products or solutions.

The company would not disclose financial terms such as the amount invested in the new project, but Wu Dong, head of the J&J Asia-Pacific innovation centre, said the various stages of development before turning the early discoveries into cures for diseases that are prevalent in China would be a long and gradual process that echoes China's efforts to improve medical conditions in the country.