BEIJING - US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer's new research and development (R&D) center officially opened at BioPark in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA) on Saturday.

As the company's third R&D center in China, the new facility aims to enhance its existing drug development network in the country, integrating China into Pfizer's global early-stage clinical trials and all pivotal phase III studies.

With China's population aging, the demand for innovative drugs and vaccines is expected to grow, said Michael Corbo, senior vice-president of the company.

He added that the R&D center in Beijing aims to accelerate the global simultaneous development of innovative drugs, benefiting patients worldwide, including those in China.

Multinational pharmaceutical firms are increasingly recognizing China's burgeoning innovative drug sector as a strategic goldmine to bolster their global competitiveness.

British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca signed a landmark agreement earlier this month to invest $2.5 billion in Beijing over the next five years, demonstrating confidence in the capital's world-class life sciences innovation ecosystem. Likewise, medical tech firm Medtronic also launched a digital healthcare innovation base at BioPark, its first in China.

To date, nearly 5,000 medical and healthcare companies have gathered in the BDA, including multinational pharmaceutical giants such as Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Bayer, AstraZeneca and Medtronic.