Roche Diagnostics inks $420m deal in Suzhou

Roche Diagnostics Products (Suzhou) Co Ltd has signed an agreement with the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) Administrative Committee to invest 3 billion yuan ($420 million) in expanding its existing site in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The deal, signed on Wednesday, is the Swiss company's largest single investment in China so far.

The investment shows Roche's commitment to the China market and will be used to construct new plants for the production of reagents and instruments, as well as the localized manufacturing of key diagnostic products, it said.

The company manufactures reagents that aid in tests for various diseases, including in the fields of oncology, cardiometabolic and infectious diseases, and women's health.

Production at the expanded site, which will occupy 60,000 square meters, is scheduled to kick off in 2028.

In line with future business requirements, the investment agreement will lay the foundation for potential expansions up to a total of 120,000 sq m in floor space.

"Upon completion, the Roche Diagnostics Asia Manufacturing and R&D Site plans to manufacture more than 400 products, including both reagents and instruments, by 2030, compared to 120 products today," said Marco Cairoli, general manager of Roche Diagnostics Asia Manufacturing and R&D Site.

Richard Yiu, general manager of Roche Diagnostics China, said the investment reaffirms Roche Diagnostics' commitment to providing innovative diagnostics solutions for Chinese patients that enable earlier and better disease detection and monitoring.

"Last year, we grew at high single digit in China, the second-largest market worldwide for the company. We have full confidence in the long-term development of the Chinese market," Yiu added.

Since the company began operations in China in 2000, it has established a complete value chain, comprising R&D, production, commercialization and customer service.

"Today's investment is another key milestone in Roche Diagnostics' continuous investment in China, and in further expanding the company's value chain in China," he said.

Wu Hong, deputy secretary of CPC SIP Working Committee, said that biomedicine and the health industry are strategic emerging industries that the SIP focuses on developing, and has gathered more than 2,000 enterprises in this field.

"In such fields as new drug and medical device R&D, biotechnology and new therapies, we are seeing good trends that high-quality projects and high-end talent are gathering here. We welcome multinational biopharmaceutical companies to the SIP for R&D, sales and production of world-class products," he said.

To better meet the unique needs of the Chinese market, Roche Diagnostics leveraged its global resources and local R&D capabilities to launch the first domestically developed immunodiagnostic product, Elecsys CA 242, in April, supporting efficacy monitoring and comprehensive management of gastrointestinal malignancies, such as pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer.