Zhangjiang High-tech Park Still Top Investment Draw

TEN international and domestic companies signed contracts worth about 4 billion yuan (US$585.3 million) to invest in Zhangjiang High-tech Park in Pudong New Area yesterday.

The government also set up a 1-billion-yuan industrial fund for the biopharmaceutical industry in Zhangjiang park.

The 4-billion-yuan investment is expected to generate more than 20 billion yuan in output over the next two years, government officials said yesterday at a meeting to promote investments in the park.

Despite the economic crisis, Zhangjiang park is a hot choice for domestic and foreign investments. It secured 149 foreign investment projects worth US$1.295 billion last year, a rise of 8.8 percent from 2007.

Meanwhile, a 1-billion-yuan industrial fund was set up yesterday to help finance new medicines. ''It usually takes more than US$1 billion and over 10 years to develop a new medicine,'' said Chen Guoxiang, board chairman of Shanghai Genon Bio-engineering Co Ltd.

The park has invested a lot in the initial research stage of medicines, but many innovative medicines were bought by companies outside the park during their clinical research stage due to lack of funds. The government now aims to support the development of drugs in the later phase of their development.

The sales revenue of the pharmaceutical industry in Zhangjiang park was 9.53 billion yuan last year, a rise of 15 percent from 2007.