SIMM-AstraZeneca Alliance for Preclinical Safety Evaluation is Launched(Photo by SIMM)

On 16th September, the unveiling ceremony of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, CAS (SIMM)-AstraZeneca alliance for preclinical safety evaluation was held in SIMM.

The cooperation with AstraZeneca was the largest program SIMM had ever taken internationally.On Mar. 23, 2007, the two parties signed a 10-year collaborative contract to establish a world-class safety evaluation center which meets the international Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) standards. After 3 years’ hard work, both organizational structure and infrastructure construction have been completed under the GLP standards. Now the preparations for AAALAC accreditation and pilot studies are in progress, laying a solid foundation for future work.

Professor DING Jian, General Director of SIMM, said the unveiling ceremony, being a milestone for the SIMM-AstraZeneca alliance, marked the first successful step of the bilateral cooperation.

Professor SANG Guowei, Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, stated that the cooperation was an important step for SIMM to build a comprehensive platform for new drug discovery. And the launch of the alliance, said SANG, would help China meet international standards in innovative drug R&D and bring mutual benefits to both sides as well.