China, US Form Gene Research Joint Venture

Cellgene, a biotechnology Sino- US joint venture, was formed Friday in Pudong, Shanghai, China's industrial and business center, to focus on gene research associated with treating disease.

The company was jointly formed by the Shanghai Pharmaceutical (Group) Corp. and the US-based Kanda Natural Medicine Research Center (KNMRC), with a total investment of 100 million yuan.

Cellgene is expected to discover two or three individual genes, vital for treating cancer and heart disease, during the next two to three years with the efforts of Chinese and US experts, said James B. Ding, president of KNMRC.

Experts in Shanghai noted that the cooperation project will greatly improve the innovation capacity of the city's biotechnology sector and will also help create opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry.

According to Ding, biotechnology firms worldwide are now in a race to discover individual genes, which are considered the key to developing medicines.

The KNMRC, based in San Diego, California in the United States, has developed a number of new technologies for genetic cloning and genetic expression since it was founded in 1993.

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