All posts by ChinaJob

Roche Seeks Biotech Licensing, Takeovers in China

Roche Holding AG, Switzerland’s biggest drugmaker, may make its first acquisition of a Chinese biotechnology company or buy rights to a compound developed in the country later this year.

Two executives from Roche’s drug-partnering unit based in China are scouting for opportunities, including licensing experimental medicines, Lee Babiss, the head of Global Pharma Research at the Basel, Switzerland-based company, said in a Feb. 4 interview.

“They’re looking not only for those types of assets but also drug formulation because know-how is really very, very deep in China,” Babiss said. “We are also narrowing down a few opportunities that might involve mergers and acquisitions or simple in-licensing.”

Chief Executive Officer Severin Schwan said earlier this week that the drugmaker is “constantly” looking for acquisition targets in addition to the planned $42.1 billion purchase of partner Genentech Inc. Roche, which reported a drop in second-half net income on Feb. 4 and said earnings may not grow this year, went hostile in its bid for full control of Genentech a week ago after failing to secure a negotiated deal.

Bigger Slice

Pharmaceutical companies are seeking a bigger slice of sales in emerging markets such as China as revenue in mature markets in the U.S. and Europe sags. The deepening global recession is spurring industry consolidation as governments increasingly favor generics and cheaper medicines as a way to stem the rising cost of health care.

Roche spent about 100 million Swiss francs ($85.4 million) in research and development in China from 2004 to early 2008, focusing on cancer, arthritis and anemia. The Swiss drugmaker, which opened its first subsidiary in the country more than 80 years ago, operates four sites in Shanghai and Hong Kong with a total of 2,000 staff.

Roche’s hostile bid for South San Francisco, California- based Genentech is 2.8 percent lower than the price it initially offered in July. It follows a $68 billion offer by Pfizer Inc. for U.S. peer Wyeth last month.

Genentech, whose Avastin and Herceptin cancer drugs have made Roche the world’s biggest seller of anti-tumor medicines, has helped the Swiss drugmaker grow faster than its peers and left it less exposed to patent expirations than Basel neighbor Novartis AG or Pfizer, which is the world’s largest drugmaker.

Harvard Graduates

Roche is conducting about six research projects in China and is working with a local partner on an experimental cancer treatment. The collaboration isn’t a “traditional” licensing relationship, Babiss said, without providing details.

The Swiss drugmaker is also looking to hire “excellent” scientists in China and is transferring more chemistry-related research to partners there, Babiss said.

“Most of the people that we’ve hired that have come back were trained at Harvard and MIT and these are brilliant people,” Babiss said, referring to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “At the beginning it was chemists, now the biologists are coming over. More of them are going to come back to China and shape that environment.”

Germany’s Bayer AG, Sanofi-Aventis SA of France, and London-based AstraZeneca Plc are among European rivals also expanding their presence in China. Economic growth in China and India is creating pharmaceutical markets that are growing twice as fast as those of developed nations, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC said in a report last year.

Science Spin-Offs

GlaxoSmithKline Plc, the world’s second-largest drugmaker, in 2007 earmarked $40 million for a research and development facility in Shanghai. Novartis, the same year, decided to open a $100-million research center in the same city.

Roche may also create spin-offs in the country by helping scientists to set up their own companies with compounds licensed from the Swiss drugmaker, he said. Roche hasn’t lost many scientists in China, though “eventually in that type of dynamic environment people will leave,” he said.

“The question is do we want to lose the talent or do we want to have some hook back to that talent and I’d rather do the latter,” Babiss said. “If someone’s going to leave, I’d say well alright you want to leave, you’re entrepreneurial – how can we help you leave?”

Babiss is considering hiring “a few people” with the understanding that in two or three years they would leave and form a startup.

“This is all about testing new ways of doing drug discovery,” Babiss said. “This won’t work in New York or the U.S. or here Basel, but it may work in China.”

Bayer says to build 100 mln euro R&D centre in China

BEIJING, Feb 12 (Reuters) – A unit of Bayer AG (BAYG.DE) will spend about 100 million euros ($129 million) over five years to build a research and development centre in Beijing, the company said on Thursday.

Bayer Schering Pharma, a division of Bayer HealthCare, will build the centre, becoming only the third country besides Germany and the U.S. to host a global R&D centre for Bayer Schering, it said in a statement.

China is the third largest market worldwide for the Bayer group. The new centre aims to include Asian patients earlier in global drug development, it said.

“Our goal is to build a world class organization here in Beijing that will lead drug development not only for China but also for other Asian countries,” said Kemal Malik, a Bayer Schering Pharma board member, in the statement.

China said last month it planned to spend about $124 billion on health care over the next three years, aiming to improve basic medical insurance, expand local-level clinics, improve the public health system and initiate pilot public hospital programmes.

Foreign health-care firms are seeking to fill a huge gap in China’s health care sector that leaves hundreds of millions of people with little or no coverage.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L), the world’s second-largest drug maker, said last year it planned to double its R&D staff in China to 350 people in the next few years, as China could become the world’s fifth-biggest pharmaceuticals market by 2010.

Bayer says to build 100 mln euro R&D centre in China

BEIJING, Feb 12 (Reuters) – A unit of Bayer AG (BAYG.DE) will spend about 100 million euros ($129 million) over five years to build a research and development centre in Beijing, the company said on Thursday.

Bayer Schering Pharma, a division of Bayer HealthCare, will build the centre, becoming only the third country besides Germany and the U.S. to host a global R&D centre for Bayer Schering, it said in a statement.

China is the third largest market worldwide for the Bayer group. The new centre aims to include Asian patients earlier in global drug development, it said.

“Our goal is to build a world class organization here in Beijing that will lead drug development not only for China but also for other Asian countries,” said Kemal Malik, a Bayer Schering Pharma board member, in the statement.

China said last month it planned to spend about $124 billion on health care over the next three years, aiming to improve basic medical insurance, expand local-level clinics, improve the public health system and initiate pilot public hospital programmes.

Foreign health-care firms are seeking to fill a huge gap in China’s health care sector that leaves hundreds of millions of people with little or no coverage.

GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L), the world’s second-largest drug maker, said last year it planned to double its R&D staff in China to 350 people in the next few years, as China could become the world’s fifth-biggest pharmaceuticals market by 2010.

Supplier Quality Engineer (SQE) (eng094tj)

Job Title: Supplier Quality Engineer (SQE)
Report to: President of Asian Operations
Location: China-Tianjin

Our client is Fortune 500 American enterprise with a history of outstanding performance, is the value leader in the portable heating and cooling market today.

They provide world class quality, innovative products and services; have various kinds of products, including portable high capacity air circulators to a full range of forced air and portable radiant heaters.

Now, with the development in APAC, especially in China, they are looking for talents to join in them.

Job Summary:

The Supplier Quality Engineer (SQE) will report directly to the President of Asian Operations and interface with the US VP of Operations while supporting the overall Quality Management Systems at contracted manufacturing facilities. Accountable for ensuring Acceptable Quality Levels by the regulation of raw materials, assemblies, components, and finished goods through routine inspection and audit of assembly and manufacturing processes. Analyze and review quality reports to verify compliance, monitor performance and detect potential problems. Conduct Root Cause Analysis and recommend Corrective Action Plans to resolve deficiencies.

Verify that products comply with technical and regulatory specifications and meet customer requirements in a systematic, reliable method. Develop plans for improving and stabilizing production and related processes to minimize practices that cause defects. Monitor and report supplier performance to senior management. Collaborate with plant management to ensure continuous improvement initiatives are applied. Document and maintain quality process audit reports.

Responsibilities:
1. Monitor and report daily production levels and associated failure rates to the President of Asian Operations with copy to US VP of Operations
2. Track production levels to established shipping plan and report variances with recommended corrective action plan
3. Verify adherence to Incoming Quality Control procedures, Inline QC processes, QA testing and final inspection
4. Conduct random sampling inspections and evaluate quality system effectiveness using AQL sampling methodology
5. Resolve material issue conflicts and recommend supplier corrective actions
6. Validate component and BOM specifications
7. Undertake corrective and preventative action programs, from initiation to resolution of items.
8. Oversee production record keeping procedures, audit random sampling to ensure compliance with safety and regulatory standards
9. Collect and analyze data to track defective rates
10. Audit Supply Chain management to ensure materials compliance with RoHS/WEEE requirements. Work with Engineering and Manufacturing to ensure that all product documentation, marking, labeling, and packaging meet certification requirements including CSA, CE, GOST, UL, and RoHS/WEEE

Requirements:
1. Must have 3+ years of quality engineering work experience
2. Knowledge of CSA, CE, GOST, RoHS/WEEE directives preferable
3. Ability to read, interprets, and understands technical and non-technical documents including but not limited to contracts, product drawings, and product specifications. Must demonstrate attention to detail
4. Able to speak and write Mandarin and English. Ability to communicate in Korean helpful
5. Able to interface with technical and non-technical personnel such as engineers, manufacturing staff, vendors, certification consultants, testing lab personnel, and management
6. Must be free to travel to manufacturing facilities, supplier factories and offices, and management locations in China, Korea and the US
7. Must be proficient in Microsoft Office, statistical analysis software, manufacturing software applications

Education:
1. Minimum BS in Engineering
2. Preferred BS in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering
* Please send us your complete resume (in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_eng094tj@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject please include the position name and job #

Resume helps migrants too

More rural migrant workers should learn how to use resumes to enhance their job-seeking missions, says an article in Dazhong Daily. The following is an excerpt:

At a recent job fair in Wuhan, Yu Bo, a 41-year-old rural migrant worker, used a carefully designed resume, rarely used by his peers, to win the hearts of recruiters.

Yu designed his resume as fashionably as college graduates usually do – he put into a file holder all the sheets that describe his work experience, skills and talents, achievements, and various types of certificates and diplomas. A secondary technical school graduate as Yu is, he left a deep impression on recruiters.

Usually, resumes seem to be the exclusive tool for college graduates to find jobs and few migrants have ever used resumes to boost their chances of being hired. Yu’s innovative action has set a good example for his peers.

Rural migrant workers have long been the disadvantaged group in the job market – they don’t dress up for job fairs and don’t expect too much about working conditions and payment; they lack confidence and have few skills to sell themselves to the market.

Today’s rural migrant workers are no longer only working with their muscles. They should rely more on their brains. Resumes are an effective tool for them to show off their talents and past achievements to their would-be employers

Companies to inform govt of layoffs 30 days prior

As layoffs and labor disputes become frequent with the global economic slowdown wiping out more businesses, the central government yesterday told employers to inform trade unions of their plans of mass layoffs at least 30 days in advance.

If a company plans to layoff more than 20 employees, or over 10 percent of the total staff in one go, it must submit written reports to the local labor and social security department 30 days prior to the action, the State Council said in a statement issued on its official website (www.gov.cn) yesterday.

The State Council emphasized that priority should be given to ensure the legal rights of the employees.

Moreover, employers should not refuse to pay for social insurance as long as the working relations still exist, it said.

Local labor officials should keep a watch on such companies to ensure employers do not flee or postpone wages and insurance payment, it said.

Mo Rong, deputy chief of the labor science research institute under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, said stable employment should be the top priority under the current financial circumstances.

“In the long term, mass layoffs are not good for the development of an enterprise,” he said.

The government has launched a series of favorable policies “to either reduce or postpone five types of social security insurance fees to give private enterprises some relief”, he added.

“The State Council’s notice reiterated the regulation of Labor Law, and it is a good reminder to both enterprises and employers,” Li Kui, a lawyer of the Beijing-based Yingke Law Firm, told China Daily.

“But I hope the regulation would be further clarified, as different scales of companies and official organizations that manage layoffs need to be more clear,” he said.

Meng Qinghuan, an employer of a Beijing-based fund management company, said he was doubtful if the new regulation would be implemented successfully.

“Some small enterprises have no ability to anticipate the crisis and go bankrupt overnight,” he said.

Asia Pacific Sales Manager (mkt270sh)

Job Description
Job Title: Asia Pacific Sales Manager
Department/Cost Center: Sales
Reports to (Title): Global Director of Sales

Summary

Plans and implements sales, marketing and product development programs, both short and long range for Asia Pacific;

nationally targeted toward existing and new markets by performing the following duties personally or through subordinates

Essential Duties & Responsibilities
1. Develops annual sales plan in support of organizational strategy and objectives
2. Directs implementation and execution of sales policies and practices
3. Directs multinational Asia Pacific Sales team in multiple countries
4. Ensures communications are coordinated, support sales plan objectives and meet organizational expenditure requirements in conjunction with DOS and COO
5. Recommends sales strategies for improvement based on market research and competitor analyses
6. Implements approved distribution strategies
7. Manages multiple channel selling strategies
8. Builds, develops and manages sales team capable of carrying out needed sales and service initiatives
9. Establish and nurture business relationships with existing and new customers to ensure service levels are maintained and growth opportunities are maximized.
10. Provide support and guidance to the Inside Sales group, along with other functions of the Company to ensure total customer loyalty.
11. Provide reports updating Customer Activity, Market Analysis and Competitor updates, as requested by the Director of Sales.
12. Coordinates with the sales & marketing group any additional accessory products along with Product Development Group for new and/or improved products.
13. Works with Marketing in managing and monitoring promotional and sales literature and advertising programs.
14. Gathers and communicates to Industrial team pertinent market/technical intelligence information. This includes key customer reports, Monthly Sales Reports and Monthly Expense Reports.
15. Performs other related duties as assigned

Unusual Extra Duties that have meaningful impact on the Company ( comprising more than 10% of total workload)

Qualifications

Education & Experience 4 yr degree in Business Administration,or related field experience
Language Skills Chinese & English skills needed. Ability to read, analyze and interpret complex documents. Ability to

respond effectively to sensitive inquiries or complaints. Must be able to effectively communicate well on all levels

Mathematical Skills Must have a sound working knowledge of statistical concepts, methods and data collection procedures
Reasoning Ability Must have the ability to exercise considerable judgment and discretion in establishing and maintaining

good working relationships
Computer Skills Must be computer literate in MS Office Suite and other appropriate software
Other Skills

Physical Demands

General Office environment 50%
Manufacturing environment 5%
Travel –position requires travel at ~50%

* Please send us your complete resume (in Chinese and in English) to: ‘topjob_mkt270sh@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject please include the position name and job #

Rising unemployment a key challenge for China

Rising unemployment rather than economic slowdown appears to be the biggest challenge for the Chinese economy this year, according to economists.

According to a report by China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center, over 90 percent of the 100 economists surveyed expressed the view that the growing number of jobless is the top challenge for the economy, followed by economic slowdown and social instability.

The survey, conducted in December, also revealed that economists’ confidence in the economy has dropped to its lowest since 2004, when it was first introduced.

“The survey results show that government policies should be directed at addressing unemployment,” said Lin Yixiang, chairman and CEO of TX Investment Consulting Co, which helped to conduct the survey.

The rising concern over unemployment also underscores the gloomy prospects of the nation’s job market. Over the past few months, more than 20 million migrant workers, or a sixth of the total, have lost their jobs due to the economic slowdown.

Policymakers also forecast the registered urban unemployment rate, which excludes migrant workers, will hit 4.6 percent in 2009, up from 4.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.

China’s economic growth dropped to 9 percent in 2008, compared with 13 percent of 2007. The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the nation’s growth would further decline to 6.7 percent this year, far below the long-time 8 percent target of the Chinese government.

As a response to the economic slowdown, the government announced a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package last November to prop up the weakening economy. Meanwhile, it’s also drafting a plan to bolster the development of 10 key industries. Policymakers later said in January that they plan to spend 850 billion yuan by 2011 to provide accessible and affordable healthcare to the country’s 1.3 billion people.

A total of 86 percent of the economists said the government’s fiscal policy should focus on social spending, including education, medical care and improving the social security system. Economists also want the government to reduce direct investment in infrastructure projects, due to concerns about misallocation of resources and corruption.

More than 70 percent of the economists surveyed believed that the Chinese economy would continue to lose steam this year with the lowest point likely to occur in the second quarter. Three-fifths of the economists said the global economy would only start to recover in 2010.

China to train jobless graduates as crisis bites

BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese government will help train 1 million unemployed university graduates over the next three years and will give loans to companies who hire them, state media said on Sunday, as the economic crisis starts to bite.

Premier Wen Jiabao warned earlier this month that college graduates face a “grim” job market as a global slowdown seizes the economy.

Now the State Council, or Cabinet, is offering training and loans to help graduates, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Students loans will be waived either partially or in full for graduates willing to work in rural areas or join the armed forced, the report said.

The government will also offer loans of up to 2 million yuan ($292,400) to labor-intensive companies who recruit graduates, it added.

And loans of 50,000 yuan each will be given to graduates who want to set up their own business, Xinhua said.

China has more than economic reasons to fear surging graduate unemployment. It is also a potential political time bomb.

This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by radicalized students. Unsettling discontent could spread again as millions of graduates, whose families have paid steeply for their education, look for work.

The government has encouraged more students to go to university as a way to boost skills and consumer spending, but at the end of 2008 about 1 million of that year’s graduates had not found work.

With some 6.1 million students leaving colleges and universities in 2009 — about half a million more than last year — labor authorities have repeatedly warned them not to be fussy.

China’s economic crisis puts labour reform on hold

China’s ruling communist party has already seen its economic miracle knocked off course by the downturn in global trade and now the government is faltering on another cornerstone of its plans to modernize the country by developing the rule of law.

Amid mounting job losses and factory closures, Beijing has made dealing with the immediate economic crisis priority number one and that means some longer-term plans such as improving labour laws have been sidetracked.

“China’s leadership is clearly wavering on what they want to do,” said Andreas Lauffs, a Chinese labour law expert at Baker & McKenzie in Hong Kong. “Is it rule of law or is it ad hoc policies?”

Last year, Beijing enacted a new Labour Contract Law that was seen by many as a landmark designed to protect workers and clarify the rights of employers too. The new laws were also seen as part of a wider trend toward a more modern system of commercial laws that included improving patent laws and rules on mergers and acquisitions.

But those developments could be in jeopardy as the government diverts its attention to righting the country’s wavering economy that has slowed to its weakest growth in years, largely because of the sharp decline in global trade.

Faced with massive unemployment — latest official estimates released Sunday indicate 20-million migrant workers have been laid off since the downturn began late last year — Chinese authorities are apparently showing flexibility and inconsistency on the enforcement of the new laws.

For instance, provisions on mass layoffs were recently rewritten so that firms looking to lose 20 people or 10% of their workforce must get approval from local authorities. “Effectively they are saying collective dismissals are not encouraged,” Mr. Lauffs said. “They are asking employers to reduce payroll, change working hours, do whatever they can to avoid collective dismissals. The government doesn’t want large numbers of people unemployed, they don’t want labour disputes, they don’t want people marching in the streets.”

Meanwhile, some provincial authorities have introduced measures that undermine the prosecution of wrongdoing by influential business owners. In January, officials in Guangdong province — home to a third of China’s export sector — declared that company owners suspected of breaking the law should be “handled prudently” so as to avoid disrupting business activity wherever possible, according to state media.

The Guangdong guidelines were mimicked by other local governments in areas hit by the downturn in the economy. But the local authorities also drew fire from official news agency, Xinhua News, which said in a op-ed piece last week that the policy is “inadvertently creating loopholes to allow crooked magnates to hide evidence of their wrongdoing.”

The Xinhua report continued: “Keeping jobs, and thus social stability, is a valid concern during hard times. But is equality before the law to be the price for this stability?”

Beijing also faces some embarrassment over a World Trade Organization ruling last week that backed the United States in a case related to China’s efforts to protect and enforce international copyrights and trademarks. Washington had said China failed to provide proper patent protection for imported products and challenged what it called shortcomings in Chinese copyright laws. The Chinese government, which has made strides to improve patent and copyright laws in recent years, said it regretted the WTO decision and pledged to work toward improving healthy global trade relations.

Observers of China’s commercial laws are also eagerly watching how authorities treat a bid by Coca-Cola Co to buy Chinese drinks company Huiyuan Juice Group Limited, which is being scrutinized under a new anti-monopoly law introduced last August. The US$2.4-billion deal is seen as a test for the new law, and whether authorities in Beijing are prepared to let a prized domestic brand fall into the hands of a foreign owner.

Zhao Yun, an associate professor in the faculty of law at Hong Kong University, said China has made “remarkable progress in constructing a solid commercial law framework,” since admission to the WTO in 2001. New guidelines on labour arbitration have improved workers rights and established a process for dispute resolutions, and there have been positive developments on property and tax law, as well as on data protection law, for instance.

Nevertheless, Mr. Zhao acknowledged “there are still problems in the enforcement of the new [labour] law. For example there is no independent workers’ union to represent the interests of the workers, so this will affect the functioning of arbitration and mediation.”