The Basel life sciences ecosystem is set to grow by another major global player. The international company Hengrui Medicine is establishing a Swiss subsidiary, Hengrui Europe Therapeutics AG. Founded in 1970, the Chinese company reportedly has a market capitalization of about $70 billion and therefore ranks as one of the top 30 life sciences companies in the world. It has more than 25,000 employees worldwide and currently runs more than 120 clinical trials globally. The Basel site will be dedicated to the clinical research and development of Hengrui’s innovative drugs in Europe. Hengrui Medicine operates in various fields, though its primary focus is on cancer treatments. The investment and innovation promotion agency Basel Area Business & Innovation is supporting Hengrui Medicine in establishing the Basel subsidiary.

“We chose the Basel Area because we find here the existing ecosystem for biomedical research that could facilitate us to achieve our goals,” said Dr Lianshan Zhang, President of Global R&D of Hengrui Medicine. His company looks forward to operating in this dynamic ecosystem and has the certainty to find in Basel Area the highly skilled and experienced talent it is looking for. “The comprehensive support and advice provided by Basel Area Business & Innovation made our decision to settle in the Basel Area even easier.”

Alongside the development of cancer drugs and tumor research, Hengrui Medicine also specializes in the production of contrast agents and surgical medicines. In May 2018, the company was one out of seven enterprises from China to make the Forbes List of World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies. Hengrui Medicine has eleven R&D centers and eight manufacturing facilities worldwide. They manufacture not only cancer treatments, but also prescription drugs for diabetes, pain management and autoimmune diseases as well as medtech products.