Beijing Hope Pharmaceutical Co Ltd and the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone hold a signing ceremony for an advanced research facility. [Photo/WeChat ID: hefeigaoxinfabu]

Pharma group Beijing Hope Pharmaceutical Co Ltd – developing chemical drugs – joined officials from the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone, located in Hefei city in East China's Anhui province, in a signing ceremony on May 13 for its planned one-stop Contract Research Organization or CRO facility.

A CRO provides research services – such as assays on current developments or drug discoveries – on a contractual basis. Pharma and biotech companies outsource work to a CRO to reduce costs and complete tasks that they wouldn't be able to do 'in house'.

With a total investment of 500 million yuan ($71.21 million), the project will focus on the whole process for one-stop CRO-related services in the field of pharmaceutical declarations.

The company's CRO services cover the whole process from a drug discovery, pharmacological research to clinical trials and the new unit is expected to boost the development of the biopharmaceutical industry in Hefei.

Moving forwards, plans are for the company to work with top hospitals and companies in the biopharma industry – both inside and outside Anhui province – to provide optimized solutions for customers.