Biotech company gets shot in the arm

Life Technologies, an international biotechnology company, announced a partnership with Chinese biotech player Sino Biological Inc on Thursday to distribute the latter's products globally under a joint brand.

The US-based company is the first multinational biological business to help a Chinese counterpart not only sell products but also establish its brand globally.

Life Technologies will distribute Beijing-based Sino Biological's range of recombinant proteins, antibodies and other products using its global distribution channels in more than 160 nations and regions.

All the products - more than 6,000 human-derived proteins and antibodies - will be sold under the joint brands of Sino Biological and Life Technologies.

Sino Biological's products complement Life Technologies' well-recognized branded reagents, said Gregory T. Lucier, chairman and chief executive officer of Life Technologies.

Proteins and antibodies are the fundamental tools employed by pharmaceutical researchers and scientists to facilitate the discovery of new therapeutic targets in new drug development. Demand for these products has been increasing. Lucier estimated that the biotechnology industry is growing at around 20 percent annually in China and 5 percent in the United States.

The two companies will also jointly develop new products, leveraging research and development synergies to introduce innovative products.

"Through this collaboration, we plan to leverage our strong brands, worldwide commercial reach and technology support with Sino Biological's world leading technologies to develop solutions for scientists worldwide who are tackling important healthcare challenges such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease," said Lucier.

Having been in China for 15 years, the company now has 10 offices around the nation, and its sales have increased by 20 percent annually over the past decade. Its global sales reached $3.7 billion last year.

Xie Liangzhi, president and CEO of Sino Biological, said the partnership is a combination of his company's technologies in recombinant protein production and antibody development, and Life Technologies' worldwide marketing and R&D strength.

"Such a kind of partnership is a good way for Chinese companies to go overseas," said Tian Ximei, an analyst of Forward Business Intelligence Co Ltd.

"Some Chinese biotechnology companies are testing the waters in the international market. They have benefited from the central government's supportive policies and are growing fast," said Meng Dongning, vice-president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Medicines & Health Products.

The output of China's biotechnology industry jumped to 1.6 trillion yuan in 2010 from 600 billion yuan in 2006, and is expected to reach 4 trillion yuan by 2020.

liujie@chinadaily.com.cn