UK drugs giant AstraZeneca announces $15 bn investment in China

Weather - Sydney 18°C

UK drugs giant AstraZeneca announces $15 bn investment in China

ECONOMY 29.01.2026

UK drugs giant AstraZeneca announces $15 bn investment in China / Photo: © AFP/File

British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca said Thursday that it would invest $15 billion in China through 2030 to expand its medicines manufacturing and research, during a trip by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Beijing.

Change text size:

AstraZeneca's chief executive Pascal Soriot was part of a delegation of business leaders accompanying Starmer on his visit.

"China... has become a critical contributor to scientific innovation, advanced manufacturing, and global public health," Soriot said in a statement.

China is AstraZeneca's second-largest market after the United States, where the company has recently invested heavily under pressure from President Donald Trump.

"This will be our largest investment in China to date," Soriot said at Beijing's opulent Great Hall of the People, a company spokesperson told AFP.

Starmer's visit to China is the first by a British prime minister since 2018, and follows a slew of Western leaders seeking a rapprochement with Beijing as they pivot away from an increasingly unpredictable United States.

"AstraZeneca's expansion and leadership in China will help the British manufacturer continue to grow -- supporting thousands of UK jobs," Starmer said in the statement shared by AstraZeneca.

"Unlocking opportunities for British businesses across the globe... is always the driving force behind my international engagements," he added.

AstraZeneca last year announced plans to invest $2.5 billion in China over five years to fund a strategic research and development centre.

That announcement came as Leon Wang, former president of AstraZeneca China, was detained in the country in an investigation into suspected illegal data collection and drug imports by the group.

AstraZeneca has operated in China for more than thirty years.

- US efforts -

Britain's largest drugmaker has been making a recent shift towards the United States, which it hopes will account for half its global revenue by 2030.

AstraZeneca will start trading its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in February, while keeping its headquarters in the UK and keeping its primary listing on London's top-tier FTSE 100 index.

It also plans to invest $50 billion by 2030 on boosting its US manufacturing and research operations.

That announcement came after the United States in December exempted British pharmaceuticals from import tariffs under a unique deal that sees the UK increase spending on some drugs, including US treatments, by 25 percent.

Separately, the White House has delayed for three years tariffs for AstraZeneca after it agreed to invest in US manufacturing capacity.

The pharmaceutical industry remains a key target of Trump, with drugs tariffs imposed on other countries as he demands companies switch operations to the US.

O.Nicholson--TNT

Featured

Carney touts Canada 'pivot' away from US as Trump levels new threat

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Tuesday that reducing economic ties with the United States would come at a cost but the benefits were clear, as President Donald Trump threatened new penalties targeting Canada.

Nearly 1,100 flights cancelled after UK air traffic control glitch

Almost 1,100 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled Tuesday due to what the country's air traffic control service called a technical issue, in the latest glitch to spark travel chaos.

Carney touts Canada 'pivot' away from US as tariffs rise

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday said reducing economic ties with the United States would come at a cost but the long-term benefits were clear, as retaliatory tariffs on US products took effect.

The "Everlasting Battery" Inside Your Joints:UConn Professor's Self-Powered Healing Material just Got Acquired

A material that turns your own movement into medicine has just landed a corporate home. PetVivo Holdings (OTCQX: PETV), a veterinary biotech and biomedical device company focused on treating osteoarthritis in dogs and horses, has acquired PiezoBioMembrane (PBM) — a startup built around a biodegradable implant that generates electricity from the everyday force of a joint in motion, and uses that charge to help regrow cartilage from the inside out. The material is the invention of Thanh Nguyen, a professor of mechanical engineering in UConn's College of Engineering, who founded PBM in 2021 to advance new implementation methods for his work with piezoelectric materials — substances that convert mechanical force into electrical energy. These materials are typically ceramics: hard, brittle, and poorly suited for medical use. But Nguyen's lab developed new forms that are so , flexible, and biodegradable, breaking down naturally within the body over time. wound healing, The materials have already shown strong potential across a range of medical applications, including tissue regeneration, implanted force sensors, and targeted drug delivery in tumor treatment. How It Works biodegradable ultrasound for In the case of arthritis, Nguyen explains, the piezoelectric materials function as an off-the-shelf product that can be implanted or injected directly into the ailing joint — with no drugs, chemicals, or cells required. The everyday force exerted on the joint generates a small electrical charge, which helps regrow healthy cartilage, mimicking the body's natural use of electricity to regenerate tissue. "The body can be electrically stimulated to regrow," Nguyen says. PBM's materials "act like a battery — an everlasting battery that works whenever there is a force applied, and vanishes safely inside the body over time." PetVivo's Vision for the Acquisition PetVivo Holdings CEO John Lai expressed enthusiasm for the merger's potential to improve the lives of companion animals globally. "PBM has developed a compelling functional biomaterials platform with the potential to support the development of multiple medical device and therapeutic product lines across both human and animal health markets," Lai said in a press release. "By combining PBM's scientific innovation with PetVivo's product development capabilities, commercialization experience, regulatory expertise, and public company infrastructure, we believe we can accelerate theadvancement of technologies that may serve as the foundation for numerous future products and strategic opportunities." For Nguyen, the deal is a chance to scale technology that could eventually benefit both animals and people. "PetVivo is an animal health company, but they do have a big passion: pushing the technology towards clinical trials for human use," Nguyen says. "That aligned perfectly with my passion for developing technology that has an impact on human life. That is why I am excited about this merger, which facilitates my passion." A Track Record of Innovation Nguyen's research sits at the intersection of medicine, micro/nanotechnology, and biomaterials. His inventions have earned him publications in prominent scientific journals and media coverage from outlets including NPR. Nguyen founded PBM during the COVID-19 pandemic, a er realizing the material he had developed could be used to create an especially effective, biodegradable face mask — one where the mechanical force of breathing generated an electrical charge that provided an extra layer of protection against viruses. PBM is not Nguyen's only venture in the acquisition pipeline. His other startup, Single-Time Microneedles (STM), is also currently undergoing an acquisition process. STM has pioneered stable, efficient vaccine delivery technology in the form of an adhesive patch. shelfNguyen's focus on biodegradable materials has translated into a remarkably diverse range of medical applications. He has received five R01 grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supporting research in cartilage regeneration, bone regeneration, HIV antibody delivery systems, and biodegradable ultrasound technology to boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy for brain cancer. "Whatever we are working on, we want to show that it works very well in vitro and in vivo," Nguyen says. "Then, when we are at the point of commercialization, we set up a startup or license the technology — or maybe team up with an industry partner." Thanh Nguyen is a professor of mechanical engineering in UConn's College of Engineering. (Courtesy of Thanh Nguyen

Change text size:

The National Times - UK drugs giant AstraZeneca announces $15 bn investment in China