AstraZeneca just pledged to invest $100 million in research and development in China. The funds will be primarily used to build the AstraZeneca Innovation Centre China, which, according to the firm's press release, "will focus on translational science by developing knowledge about Chinese patients, biomarkers and genetics."

At the ICC, researchers will work on the identification, development, and validation of new biomarkers. Activities at the ICC will include analysis of human biological samples from clinical and experimental settings. The ICC will feature state-of-the-art biomedical informatics capabilities and advanced IS/IT support. The Centre will employ pre-clinical scientists and physicians who will progress both early and later-stage drug research projects.

Cancer research will be prioritized, and scientific collaborations will be strengthened particularly with the Wuxi Pharmatech for Compound Collection Synthesis and the Shanghai Jiaotong University on the genetics of schizophrenia.

"With China's rapid economic growth and increasing demand for better healthcare, China has become one of the most important emerging markets for AstraZeneca and will be important to our future success." said David Brennan, CEO of AstraZeneca PLC. "We fully support China's national focus on innovation by substantially increasing our R&D investment, both in financial terms and in terms of scientific collaboration."

Considering that China may very well be one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the near future, this move displays vision, indeed. The company is now looking for a location appropriate for the Innovation Center, which they hope to be operational by late 2009.