Perry Nisen, GlaxoSmithKline's senior vice president for global R&D, recently spoke to the local press in Shanghai about the company's new venture into developing R&D in China.

Earlier in July, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced that it would spend $40 million this year to start a research facility in Shanghai that is likely to grow into one of its largest research centers globally. The center will be the only one for GSK focusing on neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis.

Nisen told the local press that GSK's innovativeness is not limited only to the new drug R&D itself, but also in its R&D management models and approaches. Its R&D center in China will be a fully integrated operation from basic new drug research, to clinical development, registrationa and finally product launch. This approach and model in China is a totally new experiment for GSK.

He stressed the key to R&D success in China lies with the "suitable leaders" the company can find for its R&D center. In May, GSK appointed Dr. Zang, a neurologist and researcher in immunological and neurodegenerative disorders, as the head of its new center in China. Nisen said that GSK highly values Dr. Zang's research experience in China, which will provide valuable insights to the company about development of China's biopharmaceutical research.

Nisen believes that the rising R&D investments of multinational pharmaceutical companies in China will help the country develop an environment that fosters innovativeness in drug research, and this will attract a growing number of talented Chinese scientists to return to China. He also thinks that the local pharmaceutical industry will also benefit from the evelating R&D innovativeness and capabilities, as well as increasing available of talents.

According to Nisen, GSK's R&D center will seek to hire between 50 and 100 scientists within one year, and eventually this number may grow to 1,000, surpassing GSK's R&D centers in Philadelphia and London. He also suggested that the R&D investment in China will definitely increase next year.

He told the local press that GSK has an independent venture capital investment firm which has been investigating opportunities in China. It is likely that the collaboration between GSK and local CROs, research institutitons and companies will be diversified and multi-layered, he indicated.