Roche is aiming to develop medicines ‘in China for China and the world’, Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche Group – which established the first foreign-funded research and development center in Shanghai in 2004 and was the first multinational enterprise in Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park in 1994 – announced the completion of a new innovation center in the city on October 21st. Representing an investment of CNY 863 million (USD 122 million), the innovation center focuses on research and early development of innovative drugs for immunology, inflammation and infectious diseases, and will further bring China’s R&D to the world stage by developing innovative drugs to meet patients’ unmet needs. In an interview with China Daily, Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche Group, said that as always, China plays a vital role in Roche’s global strategy, and with this center, it is committed to making Shanghai the third strategic global center of Roche following Basel, Switzerland, and San Francisco, the United States.