| Success story

Global headquarters was established in Basel

Location

Basel-Stadt

Industry

Life sciences

Employees

28’000

Country of origin

China

Hengrui Medicine is one of the top 30 life sciences companies in the world. In China, where Hengrui was founded, it is the largest pharmaceutical company by market value by May 2021.

In 2020, Hengrui opened its Swiss subsidiary in Basel. The site will be dedicated to the clinical research and development of innovative drugs in Europe. Basel Area Business & Innovation assisted Hengrui in establishing its subsidiary.

“We chose the Basel Area because we find here the existing ecosystem for biomedical research that could facilitate us to achieve our goals,” said Dr Lianshan Zhang, President of Global R&D of Hengrui Medicine.

There are so many different biotech companies starting up here, and I guess one of the reasons for that is the innovation they find here in Basel. We plan to spend significantly here in Basel to build up the research and development organization. Basel is one of the few places where you can do that in Europe.
One of the things that set Basel apart is the large talent pool in the pharma industry.
The other thing of course is the high quality of life here in Switzerland. The Basel Area is a major hub for life sciences. It is multicultural, easygoing and very safe.

Michael van der LaanHead of Clinical Development, Hengrui Europe Therapeutics AG

Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine was founded in 1970 in China. The company focuses on the development of cancer treatments. Further, it produces MedTech products, contrast agents, surgical medicines as well as prescription drugs for diabetes, pain management, and autoimmune diseases.

You might also be interested in