German pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim announced Tuesday that its China Biopharmaceuticals Site has officially been put into operation. As the first and only biopharma site set up in line with global standards by a multinational pharma company in China, the site has become a major milestone in Boehringer Ingelheim’s strategic blueprint for its biopharma business globally.

The first-phase investment has exceeded 70 million euros. As Boehringer Ingelheim has been selected as one of the first companies to launch the country’s biopharma CMO pilot projects, the Shanghai-based site will provide all-round services, including process development, clinical and commercial supply, to its customers in China and all over the world.

The site is located in the core area of Zhangjiang High-tech Park in Pudong, Shanghai. Its design, construction and operation system follow top global standards. It has the qualification and capacity to supply bio-medicines to countries around the world. The site is now running a production line of 2,000L single-use bioreactor, which is by far the world’s largest disposable bioreactor. The site has a designed capacity of four 2000L single-use bioreactors, enabling it to meet greater market demand in the future.

Leveraging Boehringer Ingelheim’s world-class biopharma contract manufacturing platform, Chinese pharma companies will be able to accelerate exploring the European and US markets, and the core competitiveness of China’s biopharma industry will be further strengthened. Also, multinational pharma companies will take advantage of Boehringer Ingelheim China Biopharmaceuticals Site as a “bridge” to quickly enter the China market.

Setting up the bridge between China and the world’s biopharma market

As one of the largest biopharma contract manufacturers, Boehringer Ingelheim has successfully marketed 27 biopharmaceuticals in global markets. The China Biopharmaceuticals Site in Shanghai is the company’s fourth biopharma site after those in Biberach (Germany), Vienna (Austria) and Fremont (USA). The Shanghai site will help further improve Boehringer Ingelheim’s global biopharma manufacturing network as a key milestone in its strategic business layout.

The official launch of the site marks Boehringer Ingelheim has fully kicked off biopharma contract manufacturing service in China. The lab for clinical material supply and the commercial production site have been built upon Boehringer Ingelheim’s global service philosophy in contract manufacturing, which expands from DNA to fill and finish, from process development to commercial production, and from drug assessment to quality assurance. With the Shanghai site, Boehringer Ingelheim will serve both Chinese and global customers with its world-class biopharmaceuticals.

“Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals China is committed to helping Chinese biopharma companies to serve the domestic market with high-quality bio-medicines, and gradually go beyond the borders into international markets. We will also leverage our company’s heritage and global experience to support multinational companies to seek better access to the Chinese biopharma market,” said Luo Jiali, General Manager of Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals (China) Co Ltd. “Boehringer Ingelheim Biopharmaceuticals China will strive to be a bridge that connects China with the world’s biopharma markets, and further benefit patients in China and around the world.”