With fully automated operations and electronic recording for safety and quality, the plant is expected to reach a full future capacity of 4 billion tablets and capsules and up to 57 million tubes of creams.

Globally, Janssen has fine-tuned its portfolio of drugs from targeting around 33 diseases a decade ago, to a core of around 10 that Hait said were its "disease area strongholds", based on compelling science that was emerging around the world that "we thought could translate into products".

The company's three innovation centers have signed 70 collaboration deals in the past year, with academics, entrepreneurs and scientists around the world.

According to Hait, the company would be focusing on developing drugs and treatments aimed at four specific areas in China. They are lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders, hematological malignancies (including leukemia, lymphomas, and myelomas), and hepatitis.

Hait said that with its Chinese innovation plan now firmly in place, "we are looking at extraordinary growth over the next decade, and I expect our investment to double in that time".

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