HMR Chinese JV Starts Operations

Hoechst Marion Roussel, subsidiary of German life sciences andindustrial chemistry group Hoechst, has announced that Hoechst-Huabei Pharmaceuticals, its joint venture with the North China Pharmaceutical Group Corporation, has started operations at its first antibiotics factory in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province. The investment involved in the venture amounts to more than $27 million, and both companies each hold 50% of the equity shares.

Hoechst-Huabei produces sterilized powder fillings of injectible cephalosporins for the Chinese domestic market and expects to be profitable within the next two years. Marc Dunoyer, president of HMR Asia Pacific, said that the group was in a period of global reappraisal and that China was being viewed as a long-term investment, having been identified as a priority growth market. About 20% of HMR's sales originate in Asia, with Japan being the largest contributor.