SHANGHAI: Huayi Group plans to invest about 100 million yuan in a pilot project to manufacture a medicine for diabetics that it developed through its own research.

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"The board has approved the project which will be launched in the third quarter of this year," said Zhang Peizhang, chairman of Shanghai Huayi Group.

A plant to make the medicine will be located in Shanghai's Nanhui International Medical Science Park and will cover an area of about 5 hectares when completed.

The new drug, named "Yishengtai", is "China's first effort in developing drugs for diabetics by using its own intellectual property rights", said Wu Dengxi, director of the Shanghai Huayi Bio-Lab Co Ltd.

"It will be put into production in two years if things go on smoothly," said Zhang.

The company has applied to the State for patent, he said.

Clinical experiments on the drug began in 2004 after it was registered with the State Drug and Food Administration.

"Much valuable data was collected from these experiments, proving that the new drug is helpful to those who are suffering from type-II diabetes," said Li Guangwei, a professor at the Sino-Japan Friendship Hospital, who has been involved in the experiments.

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