Novartis R & D center in China closed? Official reply: only the key operation adjustment! What's the next step?

It can be seen from Novartis' statement that unlike other multinational pharmaceutical companies' actions of "opening and closing" R & D centers in China, Shanghai R & D center has not yet "closed" entirely, but has made adjustments to its operational focus However, in the context of the "evacuation tide" of R & D centers of multinational pharmaceutical enterprises, as well as the situation that many MNC enterprises "withdraw" and then re strengthen their efforts in China in various forms, Novartis' every move on the R & D line is still worthy of attention On November 18, 2019, media reported that "Novartis China's early R & D center will be closed, a number of layoffs will be made by the end of 2019, and a number of layoffs will be made in March next year!"! Research is partially closed; TCO / TM related to clinical is still in normal operation " In recent years, under the background of "evacuation tide" of multinational pharmaceutical companies' R & D centers in China, the news immediately attracted close attention in the industry The manager of E medicine immediately confirmed the news to Novartis at the first time In a statement sent to e-drug managers, Novartis group (China) acknowledged that the operational focus of Novartis Shanghai R & D center would change, after which it would "focus on expanding the scale and field of early clinical development and late clinical trials, so as to accelerate the development of new drugs." However, Novartis also continues to emphasize China's important position in its future development strategy Novartis said in a statement that it expects to continue to submit 50 new drug applications in China during 2019-2013 and increase 340 jobs in its global drug development and related businesses At the same time, Novartis also stressed that "Novartis Shanghai park is still the workplace for more than 1000 Novartis R & D personnel, Novartis pharmaceutical, Novartis tumor, and employees of Sanders who focus on non patent drugs." It can be seen from Novartis' statement that unlike other multinational pharmaceutical companies' actions of "opening and closing" R & D centers in China, Shanghai R & D center has not yet "closed" entirely, but has made adjustments to its operational focus However, in the context of the "evacuation tide" of R & D centers of multinational pharmaceutical enterprises, as well as the situation that many MNC enterprises "withdraw" and then re strengthen their efforts in China in various forms, Novartis' every move on the R & D line is still worthy of attention In response to the statement sent to e drug managers, Novartis said that according to the new strategic adjustment, Novartis R & D center in Shanghai will become the global center of excellence in the early clinical development of Novartis R & D pipeline drugs, and will first adopt innovative technologies to improve the speed, safety and effectiveness of clinical trials in China and other regions This means that the operation focus of Shanghai R & D center will shift from drug discovery to early clinical development and later clinical trials At the same time, Novartis will also strengthen strategic cooperation with China's biotechnology start-ups by investing in local venture capital companies According to the 21st century economic report, Novartis R & D in China includes two departments: R & D and R & D The adjustment of R & D and operation focus will affect more than 100 positions in the research department The exact data will not be determined until the beginning of next year Novartis will make internal adjustment and other matters However, at the same time, Novartis will increase 340 positions, mainly involving clinical development, leading global multi-center clinical trials, early safety and other aspects Public information shows that as the third largest R & D center of Novartis in the world, Novartis (China) biomedical research center, founded in 2006, has become an important base of Novartis global R & D network in the Asia Pacific region through years of development Its key disease research fields include high incidence cancer in China and Asia, including lung cancer, liver cancer, gastric cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer; liver disease research, including liver cancer Fibrosis, cirrhosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease Previously, Zhang Ying, President of Novartis (China), said in an interview with e-drug managers that in the five years since 2019, Novartis will have 32 new products and indications to come to China In response to these listing plans, Novartis is also adjusting its R & D strategy in China Specifically, Novartis (China) hopes to join the global phase III clinical trials at the same time, and even participate in phase II or earlier clinical trials in appropriate disease fields, so that Chinese doctors and patients can give suggestions on product development at the first time This means that in the future, China will be able to conduct tests and submit approval materials simultaneously with the world, and even realize the simultaneous listing of global innovative drugs in China In the statement, Novartis further said, "China is an important part of Novartis' future development strategy, and we expect that China will become one of the top three markets of Novartis in the next few years During the period of 22019-2023, we expect to submit 50 new drug applications in China " In the past two years, Novartis has been acting continuously all over the world In July 2018, Novartis announced that it would terminate the early research and development of antibiotics and antiviral drugs in emoryville, California, and lay off about 140 people In October 2019, Novartis announced that it would further push forward the productivity contraction and cut 320 jobs in Ireland In addition to layoffs, Novartis also strengthened its leading position in the field of prescription drugs by divesting non core businesses In March 2018, Novartis sold part of its shares in a consumer medical enterprise to GSK for us $13 billion; in June of the same year, it announced the plan to spin off its eye care department Alcon; then in early September, it announced that it had also slimmed down Sanders, a huge acquisition According to Novartis China's measures and relevant statements, the adjustment of China's R & D strategy seems to be the meaning of the topic Behind this is the embodiment of Novartis' global strategic transformation It is worth noting that in the context of China's pharmaceutical reform, multinational pharmaceutical enterprises are facing a series of challenges in China In early August 2017, GSK, a British pharmaceutical giant, announced a major strategic adjustment, saying that it would close its neurology research and development center in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, by the end of November, and that some key projects would be transferred to the research and development center in the United States, affecting more than 100 employees of the team For this move, GlaxoSmithKline's main explanation is that the average expected peak sales of research projects belong to the lowest level of competitors with the same volume, while the average investment of R & D projects is too high, close to twice the average, and at the lowest level, so the above decision is made GSK is not alone in closing its business in China As early as 2015, abbvie company closed its kidney disease research and development center in China, while Novartis earlier dismissed the Chinese biological drug research and development team, and Roche biological research and development team also made staff reductions.