On October 15, Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) announced the establishment of its China Medical Innovation Center in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA) to advance clinical research and drug development. This marks another multinational pharmaceutical innovation center in the International Medical Innovation Park (BioPark), following Pfizer’s establishment of a legal entity in the area. Kong Lei, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director General of the Administrative Commission of the BDA, attended and addressed the event.
As a global leader in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector, Lilly has all along seen China as a strategic priority among emerging markets since its entry into the country in 1918. Through continuous efforts to expand its business in China, Lilly has established itself as a pacesetter in areas such diabetes and obesity, oncology, immunology and neuroscience. The company has built comprehensive presence across the entire industrial chain, covering R&D, production, marketing, support services and reinvestment.
The new innovation center located in the BDA focuses on clinical trial efficiency and drug registration reviews, aiming to accelerate cutting-edge research on innovative drugs for the benefit of patients. Leveraging Beijing’s rich clinical medical resources, the center will marry advanced sci-tech methods with innovative models and optimize real-world data and analysis to promote the high-quality development of medical research. “The Lilly China Medical Innovation Center and Lilly Gateway Labs in Beijing will strengthen Lilly’s century-old presence in China. The new center will enable us to explore novel clinical trial designs, accelerating patient access to breakthrough therapies,” said Dr. Daniel M. Skovronsky, Lilly’s Chief Scientific Officer, President of Lilly Research Laboratories, and President of Lilly Immunotherapy.
The BDA, where Lilly China Medical Innovation Center is based, is emerging as a hub for pharmaceutical and healthcare enterprises. Currently, it is home to nearly 5,000 enterprises spanning the entire industrial chain, including drugs, medical devices and services, and the output value of its pharmaceutical and health manufacturing industry accounts for nearly half of the city’s total. In line with Beijing’s citywide initiative of building an “pharmaceutical innovation hub with global influence”, the BDA is leading the way by releasing various supporting policies and facilitating closer collaboration between the ministry, city and district levels through the six BDA-based centers of the National Medical Products Administration. Moreover, it is accelerating the planning and development of its BioPark guided by the principles of internationalization, innovation and sharing. Fully leveraging its policy and regulatory innovation, vast space, and openness, the BDA gives full support to enterprises as they seek to expedite new product launch and breakthroughs in new technological innovation.
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(Edited based on information from Beijing Daily)