GlaxoSmithKline has announced the appointment of Jingwu Zang to head a new GSK research and development center in Shanghai.

GSK R&D China will focus on research into neurodegeneration with the objective of creating new medicines for such severe disorders as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. The center will eventually direct the global discovery and development activities within its therapeutic area, from drug-target identification to late-stage clinical studies, while collaborating with research institutions elsewhere in China and other countries.

Dr. Zang, a neurologist and researcher in immunological and neurodegenerative disorders, will lead the scientific activities of the center and the hiring of staff, which will begin immediately. It is anticipated that over the next decade GSK R&D China will grow to become one of the larger R&D facilities within GSK. Dr. Zang will report directly to Moncef Slaoui, chairman, GSK R&D.

Dr. Slaoui commented: "We are entering an exciting period of expansion for our R&D organization as it builds on the strength of the superb science now being conducted in China. We intend to be part of a future in which the phrase 'discovered in China' is heard as often as 'made in China' is heard today.

"Our initiative in China reflects our commitment to ally GSK with talented researchers wherever we can find them and to further encourage within R&D the contest of ideas needed to create new medicines. It shows as well our commitment to the neurosciences, where many of the greatest challenges in drug discovery and development are to be found. Indeed, as we create a center in Chinato focus on neurodegenerative disorders, we will re-focus our largely UK-based neurology drug-discovery efforts on finding new therapies for pain, epilepsy, and brain injury."

Until his appointment at GSK, Dr. Zang served most recently as the founding director and a professor at the Instituteof Health Sciencesin Shanghai. The Institute is an affiliate of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Under Dr. Zang's direction, the Institute grew to comprise a staff of 150 and a cadre of graduate students numbering about 250 while broadening its mission to bridge the basic sciences and translational medicine.

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