Leading insulin maker opens plant in Tianjin

DANISH diabetes pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk opened a new factory on Wednesday in Tianjin, a port municipality in north China.  

As a world leader in diabetes care, Novo Nordisk has a history of over 80 years in insulin research and production.  

The company first established a factory in Tianjin in 1996 and began building the new factory in May last year.  

The new factory in the Tianjin Economic Development Area occupies an area of 40,000sq metres. Novo Nordisk invested 30mil yuan (RM13.7mil) in the first stage of construction.  

Kare Schultz, chief operational officer of Novo Nordisk, said the company has many manufacturing bases in the world, but not all of them achieve satisfactory success.  

However, Schultz said that the company has been operating smoothly in China, thanks to the support and co-operation of the Chinese government at all levels.  

Though the outbreak of SARS somewhat affected the business of Novo Nordisk, Schultz said the company’s commitment to increase investment in China remains unchanged.  

Li Yong, director of the administrative commission of the Tianjin Economic Development Area, said he hoped more and more foreign enterprises could come to invest in Tianjin.  

According to Thorkil Christensen, president of Novo Nordisk’s China Regional Office, the company will start a training programme targeted at doctors and nurses in the Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China. – People’s Daily  

For Another perspective from the China Daily, a partner of Asia News Network, click here