French pharma giant Sanofi will invest some 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion) to establish a new insulin production base in Beijing, according to the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA).

Sanofi signed a memorandum of cooperation on Monday with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology and the BDA Administrative Committee to build the facility in the city's southern area of Yizhuang. This will be Sanofi's fourth production-and-supply base in China and represents its largest single investment in the country to date.

Sanofi Chief Executive Paul Hudson noted that the new production base featuring advanced automated production technologies, cutting-edge digital integrated management systems and sustainable environmental standards will further enhance the company's supply-chain resilience and efficiently address the growing needs of diabetes patients.

Frederic Oudea, chairman of the board of directors of Sanofi, expressed the company's confidence in the long-term growth prospects of the Chinese market.

He highlighted that China's policies of opening-up and encouraging innovation, as well as the sound business environment for foreign enterprises, have strengthened Sanofi's commitment to participating in China's economic growth and advancing the high-quality development of its pharmaceutical industry.

Headquartered in Paris, Sanofi has had a presence in China since establishing its office in 1982. The company operates multiple production and R&D facilities across the country.

Its first production base in the BDA, built in 1995, has since become Sanofi's largest insulin injection production site in the Asia-Pacific region, serving therapeutic areas such as diabetes, cardiovascular health, internal medicine and oncology.

Xinhua