Beroni Group announced that it has signed a contract to build a new Research & Development (“R&D”) centre in the Zhuhai National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in China. Beroni aspires to build a facility with new preclinical research labs, manufacturing process development labs, and a GMP pilot manufacturing plant. The new R&D centre -- the first R&D site for Beroni -- will help the Company develop new drugs and medicines to cater for the vast needs of the Chinese market.

To start with, the Company will occupy about 4,000 square metres (44,000 square feet) of office space for setting up the GMP plant and laboratories. Construction of the new R&D facilities is expected to be completed towards the end of the second quarter, and the entire R&D centre is expected to be ready in the second half of this year. Beroni intends to commit US$10 million to support the clinical trials in the new R&D facility.

A new company, Beroni Pharmaceutical (Guangdong) Co., Ltd, has been established for this new venture with Beroni owning 80% of the entity's shares and a local investor owning the other 20% shares. The Company will bring professional staff, scientists, technicians, and support teams together into a hub for innovation and development of the company's future products and services. Beroni has a drug development pipeline focusing on oncology and immunotherapy.

It is moving ahead with the Phase II clinical trial of the anti-cancer molecular drug, PENAO later this year and is scheduled to commence the clinical trials for a few cellular therapies including gamma delta T cell, DC vaccine, and protein modifier R8. It is also currently studying the use of single-domain antibodies for treatment of coronavirus diseases. The Zhuhai National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone Valley, established in 1992, is one of the top biotech hubs in China and is home to hundreds of innovative biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies.

It covers an area of 139 square kilometres and boasts a convenient transportation network with the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway, Western Guangdong Coastal Expressway and Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity MRT passing through the area.