AstraZeneca expands China footprint with new CSPC manufacturing joint venture

CHINA—AstraZeneca and CSPC Pharmaceutical are expanding their long-standing partnership by forming a new joint venture to manufacture biologic drug substances in China for global markets.

The companies have signed an agreement to establish a 51-49 joint venture manufacturing facility in Shijiazhuang, where CSPC is headquartered, the Chinese pharmaceutical company said in a release on Wednesday.

CSPC will hold a 51% stake and provide capital, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven good manufacturing practice system, as well as expertise in pharmaceutical manufacturing construction and operations.

AstraZeneca, meanwhile, will contribute its experience in global quality standards and supply chain management.

Joint venture to manufacture biologics

The new venture will initially manufacture biologic drug substances that the two companies mutually select for global markets.

CSPC said the partners will also explore adding more products to the facility’s manufacturing portfolio in the future.

The companies did not disclose the size of the investment. However, the spending could contribute to AstraZeneca’s plan to invest US$15 billion in China through 2030, which the British pharmaceutical company announced at the beginning of 2026.

The joint venture adds to a series of manufacturing investments that AstraZeneca has made in China as it expands its local production capabilities.

In March, the company announced plans to establish a commercial cell therapy manufacturing base in Shanghai to supply autologous CAR-T therapies to China and other Asian markets.

A year earlier, AstraZeneca unveiled a $2.5 billion investment programme to strengthen its presence in Beijing.

The initiative includes a joint venture with BioKangtai that will give AstraZeneca its first vaccine manufacturing facility in China.

The company is also investing about US$886 million to develop a production compound in Qingdao for inhaled medicines, including Breztri Aerosphere, a treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Expanding a broader AstraZeneca-CSPC partnership

The manufacturing agreement builds on several years of research and development collaboration between AstraZeneca and CSPC.

In 2024, AstraZeneca paid CSPC US$100 million upfront for rights to a preclinical oral lipoprotein(a) inhibitor being developed for cardiovascular disease.

The companies subsequently signed a potential US$5.3 billion agreement under which AstraZeneca would use CSPC’s AI platform to discover oral medicines for several chronic diseases.

Earlier this year, AstraZeneca also paid CSPC US$1.2 billion upfront for ex-China rights to a portfolio of once-monthly weight-loss programmes.

The transaction could reach US$18.5 billion if the programmes achieve specified development and commercial milestones.

AstraZeneca deepens China presence

AstraZeneca generated US$3.5 billion in revenue from China during the first half of 2026, making it the largest foreign pharmaceutical company in the country by sales. However, revenue declined 5% on a constant-currency basis.

The latest manufacturing partnership comes days after AstraZeneca agreed to a potential US$1.5 billion deal to acquire Zegfrovy, an FDA-approved EGFR inhibitor, from Dizal Pharmaceutical.

AstraZeneca established Dizal as a joint venture in 2017 after spinning out its China innovation centre.