AstraZeneca has outlined plans to invest $15 billion in China by 2030, making a wide-ranging commitment to strengthen its operations in advanced treatment areas such as radioconjugates and cell therapies. The announcement represents one of the most significant recent investment pledges by a global pharmaceutical company in the Chinese life sciences ecosystem and reinforces AstraZeneca’s long-term strategic focus on the country.
The investment pledge was announced as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited China on Thursday to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. As part of the broader delegation accompanying the prime minister, Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca confirmed it would deepen its presence in China through a comprehensive investment package spanning drug discovery, clinical development, and manufacturing activities.
AstraZeneca already maintains a substantial footprint in China, with two of its six global research and development centers located in the country. These Chinese R&D centers have collectively supported 20 international clinical trials, underscoring China’s growing role in global drug development. Building on this foundation, AstraZeneca plans to allocate a portion of the $15 billion investment to further consolidate and expand its research and development capabilities across China.
The company framed the investment as a strategic effort to identify and deliver next-generation therapies by leveraging China’s scientific strengths. AstraZeneca specifically highlighted cell therapies and radioconjugates as priority areas, citing China’s demonstrated scientific capacity and innovation potential in these fields.
China has increasingly established itself as a significant source of new drug discoveries, emerging as one of the major contributors of novel drug candidates to the global biopharmaceutical industry. AstraZeneca has been among the most active multinational pharmaceutical companies in this landscape, having completed acquisitions involving Gracell Biotechnologies, Harbour BioMed, CSPC Pharmaceutical, Jacobio, and AbelZeta, while also entering into deals with Syneron Bio.
The newly announced $15 billion commitment represents the largest and most recent in a series of investment declarations by AstraZeneca related to China. In 2019, the company pledged to expand its workforce at its Shanghai R&D facility and establish a $1 billion investment fund. More recently, AstraZeneca planned to launch a global R&D hub in Beijing last year, alongside an additional $2.5 billion investment in the city.
These commitments have been overseen by AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot, who has navigated challenges along the way, including the arrest of the company’s former China head and an investigation into potential illegal imports. Soriot was among the 54 individuals who traveled to China as part of Prime Minister Starmer’s delegation. The pharmaceutical sector was well represented on the trip, with GSK Chairman Jonathan Symonds also participating.
During an earnings call in November, Soriot commented on the geographic distribution of AstraZeneca’s investment activity, noting that innovation was occurring at a very high rate in the United States, followed by China, and to a lesser extent Europe. He pointed to China as a clear example of how the life sciences industry can be leveraged to stimulate broader economic development.
AstraZeneca Commits $15B China Investment for Radioconjugates Innovation
AstraZeneca announced a landmark $15 billion investment in China through 2030 aimed at expanding its research and manufacturing footprint, with a major focus on advancing radioconjugates capabilities alongside next-generation cell therapies. The investment underscores AstraZeneca’s long-term commitment to innovation and to strengthening China’s role in global drug discovery and development.
AstraZeneca’s approach to strengthening radioconjugates and cell therapy innovation in China includes collaboration with local biotech partners, academic centers, and regional strategic hubs. These partnerships aim to combine global expertise with local scientific talent to accelerate the development of transformative therapies across oncology, autoimmune, and rare diseases.Under the $15 billion plan, AstraZeneca will upgrade and build new facilities across key Chinese cities to support radioconjugates and cell therapy innovation, spanning from drug discovery to late-stage manufacturing. This expansion is expected to create thousands of jobs and enhance China’s position as a global hub for emerging biopharmaceutical technologies.
