Exclusive Interview With Global Executive Vice President Of Astrazeneca, International Business And President Of China Wang Lei: From R & D Center To Asia Pacific Headquarters, From "Global New" To "New China"

In 2019, AstraZeneca, a multinational pharmaceutical company, used the achievements of the Chinese market to mark two key points.

In the Chinese market, with the impact of numerous heavy policies such as quantity purchase and medical insurance negotiation, IQVIA data show that in 2019, the total sales volume of China's hospital drug market reached 847 billion 300 million yuan, an increase of 9.4% over the same period last year, and the sales volume of multinational enterprises was 238 billion 900 million yuan.

Looking at the world, AstraZeneca has a revenue of 24 billion 384 million US dollars in 2019 and China's market revenue of US $4 billion 880 million, accounting for 20%. After Japan, it also surpassed the revenue of the whole European market, becoming the second largest market in AstraZeneca in real sense. "A European company, now China's business is more than the whole of Europe."

AstraZeneca has been regarded as the most localized company in the Chinese market, and it is also one of the most profitable multinational companies in recent years. From the 2007 innovation center and the 2012 China headquarters in Pudong New Area, Shanghai, AstraZeneca has developed to Asia Pacific headquarters. Behind it is the result of attracting and interacting with Pudong and even the Shanghai municipal government's policies.

In Pudong, Zhang Jiang has become a veritable "drug Valley", forming a complete innovation chain. It has gathered more than 400 biomedical enterprises, more than 20 large-scale pharmaceutical production enterprises, more than 300 research and development small and medium-sized enterprises, and more than 40 professional service organizations and more than 100 kinds of R & D institutions. Pudong has created 15% of the country's original new drugs and 10% of innovative medical devices. In 2019, the total income of Zhang Jiang's biomedicine industry reached 80 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 1/3 of the whole industry in Shanghai.

In the summer of 2019, the Shanghai municipal government issued the "opinions on supporting Pudong New Area's reform and opening up to achieve high-quality development in the new era". Among them, "innovative medicine" has become one of the six key industries.

As the participants, contributors and beneficiaries of Pudong's development and opening up since 30th anniversary, how can we interact with these policies again, spark new sparks, and make more innovative drugs in Pudong and Zhang Jiang? Wang Lei, the helm of AstraZeneca, gave the answer in an interview with the twenty-first Century economic report.

Wang Lei. Data map

Twenty-first Century: Why did AstraZeneca enter Pudong New Area? What are the considerations?

Wang Lei: AstraZeneca responded to the two call of Pudong New Area and Zhang Jiang to encourage R & D centers and encourage multinational companies to enter their headquarters. In 2007, China's Innovation Center (ICC) was completed in Pudong, and the milestone in 2012 was the formal establishment of China's headquarters in Zhang Jiang Science City.

At that time, this place was deserted, and there was no commercial plaza or subway yet. For AstraZeneca, it was a big decision, with a total investment of 100 million US dollars, covering an area of 29000 square meters. At the same time, it also has some important functions in Asia Pacific and the world, including some global sourcing, and the functions of production, distribution and logistics in the Asia Pacific region are located at Zhang Jiang headquarters.

At that time, there were other places in Asia that competed with Shanghai, including Singapore, China, Hongkong and even Sydney, Australia. Their geographical location and preferential policies varied. However, AstraZeneca wanted to put China's production base in Jiangsu, and commercial and R & D centers in Pudong.

Considering the overall layout, we hope to use China as the production base and Pudong as the headquarters of multinational companies to radiate the Asia Pacific region.

Twenty-first Century: in the course of development, what policies and institutional innovations did AstraZeneca benefit from in Pudong New Area?

Wang Lei: the location advantage of Shanghai in China is very obvious. Specific location, the district government has also given the best location, Jinke Road subway mouth is Zhang Jiang's prime location, then land price concessions are very strong.

At the same time, we can easily find excellent scientists, global management and marketing talents. For R & D centers, talent is one of the most important resources. At that time, the government was very attractive in attracting talents, and launched many preferential settlement and other supporting measures.

Coupled with the superposition effect of integrated circuits and software parks, the high-tech cluster of "Medicine Valley" plus "Silicon Valley" has introduced resources from universities, and even some functions of the SFA have been stationed in Zhang Jianglai to help enterprises, and some incubators and venture funds have been launched very early.

Thanks to Zhang Jiang's series of incentives in talent, policy, space and taxation, he also laid a solid foundation for the development of AstraZeneca. AstraZeneca has completed the transformation from "a more important market in the world" to "the second truly global market".

Twenty-first Century: what are the key policies and stages in the development of business environment in Pudong New Area that have a specific impact on multinational corporations and AstraZeneca?

Wang Lei:

The first stage is Zhang Jiang's policy of encouraging innovative drugs, bringing a large number of R & D personnel and hundreds of scientists to Zhang Jiang. It also attracts a large number of foreign talents to compete in Shanghai. It is not only the center of talent convergence in China, but also the center of international talent convergence, so that the General Department of transnational corporations has been developed in a complementary way.

Although some companies have shut down R & D centers, we have not only turned them off, but have also joined up with the innovation of the national investment company, making further use of China's innovative soil to develop new drugs.

The second stage is the pilot test of Shanghai FTA pilot area, so that import and export trade and related policies are ahead of the whole country.

The third stage is the Expo, which further reflects Shanghai's leading and open mind as the leader of the Yangtze River Delta's economic development. Because we have always been an export-oriented economy, or we must "come in and go out." This enables the Chinese people to understand what else can be bought abroad and further enhance the dependence of foreign economies on China.

AstraZeneca two entry Expo is the first registered pharmaceutical company, the exhibition area is also the largest, we attach great importance to the platform, which is the best opportunity for China to open to the outside world. The difference between AstraZeneca and other companies is that our Asia Pacific headquarters, which is closely related to developing countries, corresponds to the countries facing the Expo: apart from Europe and the United States, what is more important is the "one belt and one road" of hundreds of countries and regions.

We announced that we should work together with local governments to build industrial parks and set up an industrial fund of 1 billion US dollars. AstraZeneca is not only a multinational pharmaceutical company to do business in China, but also hopes to grow and innovate in the soil of China through investment and incubation.

The fourth stage is the Shanghai Stock Exchange launched the science and technology board, many domestic and Zhang Jiang's innovative enterprises have yet to make profits, they can be listed, which is of great significance to the incentives and capital flows of innovative enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Twenty-first Century: the development goal of Pudong in the next 7 years will be doubled. Innovative medicine is a very important direction. What will AstraZeneca do? What are the opinions and suggestions on supporting the development of foreign pharmaceutical enterprises in China and improving their business environment?

Wang Lei: from the suggestion, first, the cost of living in Shanghai is getting higher and higher. Some talents, especially young people, are hard to retain. The two is that all kinds of large enterprises in Shanghai are gathered. In order to help and guide enterprises, AstraZeneca hopes to get more support from the government. The three is the investment attraction, and the investment attraction in all parts of the country is very large. Shanghai also needs to respond positively.

Shanghai has strong geographical advantages, but the cost of land, the cost of talent placement, and the challenges of employment and schooling are gradually emerging.

AstraZeneca entered China for 27 years. It is a participant, contributor and beneficiary of the reform and opening up 40th anniversary and Pudong's 30th anniversary years of development and opening up. AstraZeneca has placed logistics, production bases, international R & D centers and Asia Pacific headquarters in China. Despite the epidemic this year, we will do better. The development of AstraZeneca in China will not stop because of anything. I believe AstraZeneca's integration with China's economy, its understanding of China's industrial policies, and its forward-looking judgement of China's economy, including its dependence on the Chinese economy, are among the first in the industry.

AstraZeneca will firmly regard Pudong as Asia Pacific headquarters in the future. Two, it firmly regards Pudong as the commercial headquarters and R & D center of asikang, and the three is that we hope that we will cooperate with the DDI investment in the development of Di zhe medicine. Hundreds of scientists have been developing night and day, and 1.1 kinds of innovative drugs have been born in Pudong.

?