AstraZeneca will continue its cooperation model on research and development (R&D) in China instead of merger and acquisition (M&A), the company's executive said, according to China Daily.

"In China, our collaboration strategy is to forge partnership with leading academic and medical institutions that already have in-depth expertise in Asia-specific diseases. These partnerships are helping us solidify our presence in China ... access the best science across the region ... and ultimately bring the most value to patients," said Steve Yang, AstraZeneca vice-president and head of R&D for Asia and emerging markets.

"We believe it's important to innovate based on our own capability, not just buying new capability, (since) we are always interested in new product ideas. We are open-minded about different collaboration structures, but we believe we have unique capabilities and focus on those we can bring to the table," he said.

The London-based drug maker has a product portfolio for diseases areas including cancer, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, infection, neurological, respiratory and inflammation.

Concerning its criteria for choosing partners, Yang said a successful partnership requires a shared vision, complementary strengths, a genuine respect for each other's value, quite a bit of patience and a willingness to get creative and move beyond traditional models.

In 2010, AstraZeneca launched a five-year partnership with Peking University to accelerate the R&D work on therapies for obesity, diabetes and atherosclerotic heart disease. The collaboration aims to establish an academic platform for research in these areas, with emphasis on the specific needs of people in China.