The investment, which will be spread over the next five years, is part of a strategic partnership with the Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Office and includes several research and manufacturing agreements. AstraZeneca expects its workforce in Beijing to grow to 1,700 employees.

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, said: “This $2.5 billion investment reflects our belief in the world-class life sciences ecosystem in Beijing, the extensive opportunities that exist for collaboration and access to talent, and our continued commitment to China. Our sixth strategic R&D center will partner with the cutting-edge biology and AI science in Beijing and be a critical part of our global efforts to bring innovative medicines to patients worldwide.”

The new global strategic R&D center in Beijing, AstraZeneca’s second in China following the opening of the Shanghai R&D center, will focus on early-stage research and clinical development, enabled by a new AI and data science laboratory.

AstraZeneca said that it is also establishing new R&D collaborations in Beijing. This includes a strategic partnership with the Beijing Cancer Hospital in translational research, data science, and clinical development. The company is also signing two collaboration and licensing agreements; one with Harbour BioMed to discover multi-specific antibodies, and one with Syneron Bio to develop macro-cyclic peptides.

In addition, AstraZeneca is launching a new joint venture with BioKangtai, to develop, manufacture, and commercialize innovative vaccines for respiratory and other infectious diseases. According to AstraZeneca, this will be the company’s first and only vaccine manufacturing facility in China, which will be located in the Beijing BioPark.