AstraZeneca has agreed a deal that could be worth almost £4billion with a Chinese company to use AI in the production of new treatments for chronic diseases.
Britain’s largest listed company announced the tie-up with biotech firm CSPC Pharmaceuticals following controversy over its involvement in China.
The pharmaceuticals giant will pay CSPC an upfront fee of £81million while a total further payment of up to £3.8billion is available if the drugs reach development and sales-related milestones.
AstraZeneca has been ploughing cash into the country, including announcing a £1.8billion research and development hub in the capital Beijing.
Forward thinking: AstraZeneca has agreed a deal that could be worth almost £4billion with a Chinese company to use AI in the production of new treatments for chronic diseases
The firm’s former boss in China, Leon Wang, was arrested in October and is still thought to be in detention.
More recently, former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has accused the pharma giant of ‘turning a blind eye to the nature of the Chinese government’.
AstraZeneca boss Sir Pascal Soriot said in February: ‘We all think about Leon and miss him, but the reality is we are not able to talk to him. We are not allowed.’
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