There was a particularly strong international flair to news from China biopharma last week. Almost all of the stories (with just two exceptions) involved the crossing of international lines. And not all of these stories involved money or technology heading toward China. There was a definite reciprocity, because some of the articles showed China companies expanding by reaching out to markets outside their own borders.

Boehringer Ingelheim of Germany became the latest big pharma to recognize that future revenue growth was most likely to occur in emerging markets (see story). The company announced it will invest an additional $149 million in China with the goal of increasing its market share in China and the Far East. The company will use the money to expand capacity at its existing drug production facility in Shanghai's Zhangjiang High-Tech Park, and it will also establish an R&D facility there to develop vaccines for viruses that are specific to the Far East.

Simcere Pharmaceutical Group (NYSE: SCR) (????) acquired the China rights to a dual-mechanism cancer drug from OSI Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ: OSIP) (see story). Before marketing the drug, Simcere must first obtain regulatory approval for OSI-930, and then it will produce and market the drug in China. In the US, OSI-930 is also in early stage clinical development: the drug has completed a Phase I trial.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) announced an agreement to collaborate on stem cell research (see story). The pact will make it easier to form cross-border teams that are working in similar areas. If the teams' funding requests are approved, the researchers in each country will be supported by their respective agency, CIRM or MOST. The announcement was made this week, adding details to a story that ChinaBio® Today originally broke late last week.

Next month, CRO Shanghai ChemPartner will open a European headquarters office in Denmark that will be known as ChemPartner Europe ApS (see story). The office, which will function as a liaison to Europe's biopharma industry, will be sited in Scion Research Park in Hørsholm, in the outskirts of Copenhagen. This area is called Medicon Valley and is home to many pharmas and service companies.

BioTime, Inc.