SHANGHAI - Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim recently announced it would funnel a new €100 million ($ 150 million) investment into China to increase production capacity at its plant in the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park and to introduce state-of-the-art quality control technology for active pharmaceutical ingredients sourced from China.

Boehringer Ingelheim's planned Center of Chemical Competence, to be situated in Shanghai, is designed "to strengthen quality assurance and improve production techniques of APIs and intermediates purchased in China," said Yin Yuhan, BI's spokeswoman in Shanghai.

Last year, Boehringer Ingelheim forged a strategic alliance with Hisoar, a leading API provider in China, to provide training for Hisoar's center for the production of precursor chemicals for pharmaceuticals (Also see "Boehringer Ingelheim Forms Strategic Alliance With China’s Hisoar, Provides Tech And Training On Chemical Center" - Scrip, 4 September, 2008.).

In 2002, Boehringer Ingelheim set up its production plant in Shanghai's high-tech park. The new investment will expand the facility in order to meet growing demand in China and other parts of Asia through the year 2020, according to the company.

"In our Zhangjiang plant we produce products in solid formula and liquid dosage form; we plan to expand production capacity and pack more products," the spokeswoman said.

At this point in time, the company does not have a R&D center in China, Yin said.

The company is conducting 37 clinical trials in China in such areas as diabetes, oncology, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease.

In 2008, Boehringer Ingelheim invested over $20 million in clinical research in China, according to the company.

"We hope that in the next five years, Boehringer Ingelheim will achieve a 35 percent growth in sales revenue year-on-year in China," Boehringer Ingelheim China's chief executive officer, David Preston, said during a press conference in Shanghai on Oct. 21.

The company is also moving to add 500 new sales representatives.

Boehringer Ingelheim plans to launch a number of its mature products in China in the next few years including Aggrenox (aspirin/extended release dipyridamole), Pradaxa (dabigatran etexilate), Ondero (a DPP-4 inhibitor), Tovok (tyrosine kinase inhibitors), and Vargatef (triple angiokinase inhibitor) and Girosa (flibanserin).

"We are going to launch more new products and new indications of existing products covering such therapeutic areas as diabetes, oncology, stroke prevention, and cardiovascular disease," Yin said.

Additional investment in animal health section

In addition to the investment in its pharmaceutical and API business, Boehringer Ingelheim also plans to inject $40-50 million into the animal health segment in China, the company said.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, its U.S. animal health business, will acquire half of Wyeth's animal health business as a result of the mega-merger between Pfizer and Wyeth (Also see "FTC Approves the Pfizer-Wyeth Deal And Keeps Their Human Drug Portfolio Intact" - Pink Sheet, 14 October, 2009.).

While BIV announced Oct. 26 that it has closed the deal with Pfizer to acquire the Fort Dodge Animal Health business, which includes products in the U.S., Australia, Canada and South Africa, as well as two manufacturing and research facilities located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the investment in China will be used to build a new manufacturing facility and a research and development center focused on developing veterinary vaccines for virus strains specific to China.

-Dai Jialing (j.dai@elsevier.com)

Boehringer Ingelheim To Channel €100 Million Into Shanghai To Expand Production, Strengthen Quality Controls On APIs From China

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