BUCKINGHAMSHIRE, U.K., Feb. 24, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Amersham (LSE, NYSE, OSE: AHM), a leader in medical diagnostics and in life sciences, today announced plans to enter the Chinese radiopharmaceuticals market through the formation of a joint venture, Amersham Kexing Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.Amersham is investing in the joint venture with its Japanese affiliate, Nihon-Medi Physics Co. Ltd, (NMP) and two Chinese partners, China Xinxing Corporation (Group) and the Shanghai Nuclear Technique Development Corporation. Amersham and NMP will together hold a 70% stake in the venture through a joint holding company. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.
The joint venture will provide diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals for use in areas such as cardiology, vascular diagnosis and cancer. It will be based at existing facilities on the campus of the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, which will be extended and upgraded to maximise opportunities for new products.
Amersham already operates in China, but this is the company's first entry into the small, but rapidly growing Chinese radiopharmaceuticals market. The company believes that the joint venture offers a low risk entry into this market, which is expected to continue to expand as China's economy develops and spending on healthcare rises.
"This gives us an exciting opportunity to use our technical and commercial expertise to build upon our Chinese partners' existing operations in Shanghai," said Peter Loescher, Chief Operating Officer, Amersham. "It will help us to expand our presence in China and enable us to bring our leading radiopharmaceutical products to the growing Chinese market."
Editor's notes: Amersham plc (LSE.NYSE, OSE: AHM) is a leader in medical diagnostics and in life sciences. Headquartered in the UK, the company had sales of 1.65 billion Pounds in 2003 and has over 10,000 employees worldwide. Its strategy is to build its position as a leading provider of products and technologies enabling disease to be better understood, diagnosed earlier and treated more effectively. Amersham -- bringing vision to medical discovery For additional information, visit the Amersham plc web site at www.amersham.com
Amersham Health, a business of Amersham plc, is a leading global pharmaceutical provider of diagnostic and predictive imaging products and services. Amersham Health is dedicated to providing healthcare professionals with products that expand and improve their diagnostic capabilities and contribute to the treatment of disease. Amersham Health is committed to finding innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions with a focus on cardiology, neurology and cancer.
Medical diagnostic products marketed by Amersham Health are used to understand and treat major diseases using x-ray, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MRI), ultrasound and functional imaging. Contrast and radiopharmaceutical imaging products are, in general, injected into the bloodstream to enhance images taken of the structure or function of body organs and tissues. These enhanced diagnostic images enable physicians to more accurately detect, diagnose and treat diseases of the heart, lung, brain and functional abnormalities. For additional information, visit the Amersham Health web site at www.amershamhealth.com
Nihon-Medi Physics Co. Ltd (NMP) is a 50/50 joint venture between Amersham plc and Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd and is a leading producer of radiopharmaceuticals in Japan. The transaction announced today represents NMP's first business venture outside Japan.
China Xinxing Corporation (Group) is a large industrial group managed directly by The State Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. Its main interests are in Military Supplies & Logistics, Pharmaceuticals, Engineering & Construction and Real Estate Development. It employs around 22,000 people and has assets in excess of 0.5 billion Pounds. For additional information, visit the China Xinxing Corporation (Group) web site at www.xxg.com.cn
Shanghai Nuclear Technique Development Corporation is the corporate arm of the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, an academic body which is part of the Science Academy of China.
China Xinxing Corporation (Group) and the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics were founding shareholders in Kexing Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd which, as a result of the transaction announced today, has become a Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Venture and has been renamed Amersham Kexing Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd.