Singapore, March 24 -- British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has announced an investment of $2.5 billion in Beijing to establish its sixth global strategic R&D centre together with major research and manufacturing agreements that will further advance life sciences in China.

This investment over the next five years is part of a strategic partnership with the Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area Administrative Office and includes agreements with three biotechs; Harbour BioMed, Syneron Bio, and BioKangtai, and follows the recent Fibrogen announcement. AstraZeneca expects its Beijing workforce to grow to 1,700 employees.

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said, "Our sixt...