Beerse-Xian, October 24, 2005 – Today, Xian, China was the venue for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the joint venture between Janssen Pharmaceutica and the Chinese government. To mark the occasion, Camille Paulus, governor of the Province of Antwerp, Francis Van Loon, Principal of the University of Antwerp, and several members of the Standing Delegation of the Province of Antwerp traveled to China.

Camille Paulus emphasized in his speech that in the wake of the establishment of Xian-Janssen, the economic cooperation between Antwerp and Shaanxi has yielded numerous benefits for the two provinces. He also underscored the significance of the planned collaboration between the universities, the cultural cooperation and the educational initiatives that the Province of Antwerp is setting up in China for underprivileged groups of the population.

Dirk Collier, Secretary General of Janssen Pharmaceutica, recalled that Dr. Paul Janssen had always set store by the cooperation with China and that for him this partnership exemplified his great dream, which was that people all over the world should work together to develop better medicines for the benefit of all.

In 1985 the contract was signed for a joint venture between Janssen Pharmaceutica, which owns 52% of the shares, and four Chinese state-owned companies: Shaanxi Han Jiang Pharmaceutical Ltd (4.8%), Shaanxi Pharmaceutical Industry Corporation (33.6%), China National Pharmaceutical Industry Corporation (5.76%), and China National Pharmaceutical Foreign Trade Corporation (3.84%).

For years now, the company has occupied the no. 1 spot as the most important joint venture in China and is today still the biggest mixed pharmaceutical company in the country, boasting a sales volume of more than 350 million USD. It has been consistently ranked among the top ten of the most reputable firms and best employers in China.

Xian-Janssen currently has a workforce of more than 2,000 people in the production facilities in Xian, the head office in Beijing and the five distribution centers spread across the country.