Roche to spend $470 m on diagnostics factory in China.

Swiss drugmaker Roche will spend 450 million Swiss francs ($470 million) over the next three years to build a new diagnostics manufacturing facility in China to meet rising Asian demand for clinical tests, the company said recently.

The facility, in Suzhou in eastern China, will employ more than 600 workers and produce immunochemistry and clinical chemistry tests, the Basel-based firm said in a statement.

'The new manufacturing site will enable us to meet the growing demand for our diagnostic products, ensuring our continuous contribution to the health of people in China and the Asia Pacific region,' said Roland Diggelmann, head of Roche's diagnostics division.

The Suzhou facility will become Roche's eighth diagnostics manufacturing site worldwide when it becomes operational from 2018, Roche said.

HBL