DANISH SATELLITE COMPANY IS THE GATEWAY TO EUROPE FOR CHINESE BIOTECH GIANT
Recognised research within biotech, a large undergrowth of small businesses and the possibility of an easy set-up. These were the three reasons that made the Chinese biotech company Shanghai ChemPartner Co., Ltd. decide to place its European headquarter in Copenhagen in [November 2009]
In record time, the company has become a leader within pre-clinical research and it has more than 1,500 science employees recruited in China including more than 125 senior researchers coming from Europe and USA.
Peter Halkjær-Knudsen was appointed Director of the Danish company, which was named ChemPartner Europe ApS. As such, Copenhagen is the Chinese gateway to the European market and the Danish company is to manage research projects from the European biotech industry, which are operated under contract by the parent company in China.
- The Chinese appreciate that the Danes are fast and efficient, and with a satellite office in Europe we now get a European company with direct access to the Chinese research competencies, which gets stronger every year. This is an area with enormous potential, because Europe today is in the shadow of the United States, where outsourcing of research is extremely widespread, Peter Halkjær-Knudsen, who has more than 20 years of experience in biotech companies worldwide, including San Diego in California, explains.
FLEXIBLE DANES
The choice of Denmark was an easy decision to make by the Chinese biotech company. Medicon Valley in Copenhagen is the third largest biotech cluster in Europe and offers a broad range of opportunities, whether you are a small start up business or a global player. Also, cooperation is widespread both amongst firms within
the cluster as well as with the public research sector, both universities and large hospitals.
- It takes less than one day to establish a company in Denmark and the Danish labour market is renowned for its flexibility and exceptional cooperation between companies and the research sector. Combined with some of the best skills in the life science area, Medicon Valley offers a unique opportunity for Asian companies that would like to enter the European market, Peter Halkjær-Knudsen says.
EASIER AND CHEAPER ACCESS TO RESEARCH
Outsourcing product research to large companies in Asia is the scenario of the future and it will lead to biotech companies outsourcing more research and development projects to contract research companies such as Shanghai ChemPartner in China. For a Danish biotech company this means that the very investmentintensive research in the early phases can be performed in China, until there is a basis to start the business expansion in Denmark. For Chinese companies having an office in Denmark means an excellent and competent stepping stone into the European market, Peter Halkjær-Knudsen assesses.
- Today, you must meet the same targets, but faster and at a smaller cost because the venture capital from both individual countries and private investors has fallen dramatically in recent years. Therefore, biotech and pharma companies must think in new ways, and here our design with a small company in Denmark and the main company in China becomes important, because a large part of the competencies, the value increase, all the intellectual property and all the further development of the company remains in Denmark, but the very early translational research research is based in China, Peter Halkjær-Knudsen explains.
GREAT EXPANSION
Shanghai ChemPartner has only existed for [seven yearsbut has expanded greatly each year and is now among Asia’s largest companies within pre-clinical research. The company specialises in research in a number of life-threatening diseases, both in terms of cancer, diabetes and rheumatic diseases. An expansion that had not been possible without close cooperation with the science sector in China, which also benefits the European collaborations.
- One of our strengths is the close cooperation with a number of universities and university hospitals in China, which each year turn out millions of graduates. This means that the inflow of both skilled talent and basic research is a great advantage that both we here in Denmark and our customers in the rest of Europe quickly
can get in touch with this enormous talent pool through our Chinese parent company.
