On March 19, 2026, AstraZeneca made a groundbreaking announcement, revealing its intention to set up a commercial manufacturing and supply base, along with an innovation center dedicated to cell therapy in Shanghai. This strategic move positions AstraZeneca as the inaugural global biopharmaceutical firm to possess comprehensive, end-to-end cell therapy capabilities within China. On this significant day, AstraZeneca also inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for multi-faceted collaboration with the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, as well as prominent UK scientific research and financial entities.

AstraZeneca is set to construct a specialized commercial manufacturing and supply base for cell therapy within the Lingang Special Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. This facility is earmarked for the commercial-scale production and distribution of autologous CAR-T cell therapies across China and other Asian markets. Among the therapies to be produced is the BCMA/CD19 dual-target CAR-T cell therapy AZD0120, which has been developed utilizing ConcertCure's innovative FasTCAR rapid manufacturing platform.

Furthermore, AstraZeneca will establish the AstraZeneca-ConcertCure Cell Therapy Innovation Center in Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, Shanghai. This center will encompass a wide range of activities, including early-stage research, viral vector and plasmid development, analytical testing, clinical manufacturing, and regulatory support, thereby fostering a holistic ecosystem for cell therapy innovation.

Concurrently, AstraZeneca, in partnership with the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the University of Glasgow, King's College London, and HSBC, has jointly initiated the "Shanghai-UK Life Sciences Innovation Ecosystem Collaboration Initiative." This initiative aims to bridge China's vibrant innovation landscape with global top-tier resources, thereby expediting the development of innovative solutions to address global health challenges and facilitating the international dissemination of Shanghai's pioneering achievements.