China Biomed Plans Joint Venture With China National Pharma

China Biomedical Group has signed a joint venture agreement with the China National Pharmaceutical Industry Corp to set up a drug manufacturing plant in Beijing. This is the first time that CNPIC has entered into a joint venture with a company whose main role is as an investor, rather than as a drugmaker, according to Li Shunnian, CNPIC's president.

Mr Shunnian said the company will enter sectors of the market which have previously been neglected and which are expanding faster than anticipated, such as cardiovascular diseases.

CNPIC is a corporation operating under the Chinese government's State Pharmaceutical Administration, responsible for strategic government investment in the drug industry, while China Biomedical is a diverse European biomedical company.