AstraZeneca to acquire generics company to broaden patient access to medicines in China
Thursday, 8 December 2011
AstraZeneca today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Guangdong BeiKang Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, a privately-owned generics manufacturing company, based in Conghua City, Guangdong province, China. The deal will give AstraZeneca access to a portfolio of injectable medicines used to treat infections which AstraZeneca will make available to patients in China.
Mark Mallon, President of AstraZeneca’s Asia-Pacific region, said:
AstraZeneca continues to invest in the key emerging markets such as China where the combination of growing populations, elevated levels of chronic diseases and increasing income are driving demand and expectations for better healthcare treatment. Our new acquisition further underscores our intention to serve the health needs of Chinese patients through our innovative medicines and, increasingly, high quality branded generic treatments that are locally produced to global standards.
Since first establishing a presence in China in 1993, AstraZeneca has invested around $500 million in China and has fast become one of the leading biopharmaceutical companies in the country, with a turnover of more than $1 billion in 2010.