GSK MAY ESTABLISH R&D HUB IN CHINA

UK-based drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is considering establishing an independent research and development (R&D) center in China, according to the company's chief executive officer, Jean-Pierre Garnier. If the plan is enacted, GSK would join several other major drugmakers in tapping China's multibillion dollar drug market — U.S.-based Pfizer opened a $25 million research center in Shanghai in October 2005, and the Swiss firm Novartis recently announced that it will construct an $83 million medicine material base in Suzhou.

"For us, it is more than just doing business in China," said Garnier. "It is about being part of the healthcare solutions to China." While details of the proposed R&D center's location, timeline and cost have not been announced, Garnier noted that he hoped plans would be finalized "very soon."

GSK, which first established a production plant in China in 1984, already operates smaller-scale R&D facilities in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, and has five subsidiaries in the country. The company spends an annual 17 percent of its sales on international R&D.