Pascal Soriot, the chief executive officer of global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, has announced the company will invest 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in a research and development center in Beijing, focused on accelerating scientific innovation, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in drug development, and reinforcing the company's commitment to China's healthcare sector.
In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) over the weekend at the 2025 China Development Forum, Soriot discussed AstraZeneca's plans for this significant investment.
"Last year, we announced an investment in manufacturing -- a big plant in Qingdao. This year, we are announcing a large investment of about 20 billion yuan in Beijing to create the No.6 R and D strategic center in the world. And we do this because innovation in our industry, in China, is exploding. And we want to partner with those companies and help them, work with them, to develop new medicines, and bring those medicines as quickly as possible to patients in China, but also outside of China," Soriot said.
The investment is aimed at enhancing AstraZeneca's research and development capabilities to address both local and global healthcare needs. Soriot emphasized the collaborative nature of the company's strategy.
"What we're going to do is partner with academic institutions and also biotech companies to very quickly, using AI, research and develop medicines. And then we will use our global clinical network to do clinical trials around the world, and then of course, get approval and commercialize these medicines, that many of them can be manufactured in China and exported from China. We already export to 70 countries around the world from China," Soriot explained.
AI is a cornerstone of AstraZeneca's drug development strategy, and Soriot emphasized the transformative impact the technology has on the industry.
"So AI is actually affecting many, many industries, of course, many parts of life. But in our industry, it has a tremendous impact. In the past, when you had a molecule, you had to optimize it, it would take six months. Now you can do this in two weeks. It also helps us accelerate the clinical trials. So AI is really transforming the way we develop medicines," Soriot said.
Beyond innovation, AstraZeneca is prioritizing patient care through early diagnosis and chronic disease management.
"We invest in early diagnosis, and then we bring those medicines to patients. We partner with hospitals and doctors to make sure patients are diagnosed and treated appropriately. And that's where we focus our interventions: diagnose patients early, try to keep their chronic conditions under control. And again, the objective is really to make sure people not only live longer, but they live, they are healthy," Soriot said.
AstraZeneca to invest 2.5 bln dollars in Beijing research, development center
Colombians are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect their next president. The country's constitution prevents the current President, Gustavo Petro, from running for a second term.
Yet, many see this election as a referendum on the policies of Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist president.
There are 14 candidates on Sunday's ballot, but the polls show it will likely be a tight three-way race.
The frontrunner is Ivan Cepeda, a 63-year-old three-term senator, representing President Gustavo Petro's party, the Historic Pact coalition. Cepeda has vowed to defend and deepen Petro's progressive reforms and social justice policies to reduce inequality. He also promises to continue the government's controversial "Total Peace" strategy to negotiate the disarmament of remaining guerrilla groups and criminal gangs.
"True prosperity comes from equality, from access to rights, and from transforming the peripheral and excluded territories of the rural world," Cepeda said at a campaign rally.
Running as a political outsider and independent is Abelardo de la Espriella, a 47-year-old lawyer, nicknamed "The Tiger." He has presented himself as the "authority and order" candidate who will reduce state spending by up to 40 percent in the next four years.
"(First,) we must fight insecurity. Colombia is suffering today from a pandemic of insecurity. Crime is out of control: extortion, cattle theft, smuggling, drug trafficking," he said to his supporters at an election event.
According to polls, the third candidate with strong support is Paloma Valencia. The 48-year-old senator represents the Democratic Center party led by popular former President Alvaro Uribe Velez. Her candidacy is backed by politicians and economists who are concerned with growing levels of public debt. They want to see a return to more conservative fiscal policies.
"I don't want to be a president who governs alone, locked away in glass offices. I want to be a president who stands with citizens, who embraces them, who reaches out to them, who has a team, and who governs to transform Colombia," the candidate said at the campaign event
According to polls earlier in the year, many voters are expressing concerns about unemployment, rising living costs, corruption, and, above all, public security.
The election comes after a turbulent year that the International Committee of the Red Cross has called "the worst humanitarian consequences of armed conflict over the past decade."
"(We arrive at this election in a tense atmosphere - tense) because of the economic situation, because of the security situation, and because of the narratives that have been built around the country's main problems. On top of that, emotions, ideas and social media have all helped raise (the tone,)" said Eduardo Velosa, associate professor from International Studies Javeriana University.
If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held between the top two finishers on June 21st.
Colombians prepare to choose their next president
