A young pharmaceutical startup has signed an agreement with a local non-profit to share research space.

The Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences will host Ascletis, which works to develop new treatments or cancer and infectious diseases by licensing the rights of drugs in late-stage clinical trials, in its RTP headquarters.

Ascletis, which is been backed by Chinese investors, maintains a 30,000-square-foot facility in Hangzhou, China. Prior to this new joint venture, the company had not established a U.S. research base. In addition to licensing experimental drugs, the company's scientists will work to develop compounds and team up with larger pharmaceutical companies to develop them into new treatments for China and the global market.

The new arrangement will make Ascletis the first company of its kind based in both China and the Triangle.

The president and CEO of Ascletis, Jinzi J. Wu, a former vice president of global HIV drug discovery at GlaxoSmithKline, will manage the facilities in both countries. The company's top management will be based in the Triangle but the majority of scientists will work from China.

Hamner had previously been working with Chinese businesses and a medical research park in China to develop and test new medicines in both countries.

This new arrangement was formally established through a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Governor Bev Perdue and Mr. Zhao Hongzhu, Party Secretary of Zhejiang Province and Chairman of the Standing Committee of Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress with the goal of fostering economic development and trade.

Cree's struggles in China aren't over.

The Durham company, one of the Triangle's most successful technology ventures, reported this morning that its financial results for the quarter that ends March 27 will be weaker than expected.

Cree blamed slower sales of its LED lighting products and "more aggressive pricing." In January, the company warned of declining demand for LEDs used in street lights in China.

Lenovo Group plans to begin sales of its LePad tablet computer in China this month.

The mobile Internet is a “key area” for growth for Lenovo, CEO Yang Yuanqing told reporters at the opening session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Bloomberg News reported.

The technology company, which has a headquarters in Morrisville, announced last month that it planned to start selling LePad in China "later this quarter," and bring it to the United States in the second half of the year.

A Chinese manufacturer of silicone products plans to open a new facility in Charlotte and create 125 jobs over the next three years.

Bluestar Silicones plans to consolidate manufacturing operations in other states into a former Virkler Chemical facility in Mecklenburg County, Gov. Bev Perdue's office announced today.

Bluestar makes products for the auto, paper, aerospace, energy and healthcare industries. The company also considered expansion in Rock Hill, S.C.

North Carolina and Chinese officials signed an agreement Tuesday to create a biosciences gateway in Research Triangle Park for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other businesses that want to expand in either country.

The partnership is tied to Chinese President Hu Jintao's three-day visit to the United States and signals China's interest in increasing its economic ties with North Carolina.

"Our purpose today is fairly simple: We want to learn how North Carolina can collaborate and build strong partnerships with you," Gov. Bev Perdue told a delegation of more than 100 Chinese politicians, investors and business leaders in Durham.

Perdue noted that she's planning a return visit to China in the fall and hopes to call on businesses interested in adding jobs in this state.

The agreement signed Tuesday morning calls for a 150,000 square-foot research facility that's expected to open in 2013 on the RTP campus of the Hamner Institutes for Health Sciences. The nonprofit Hamner will work with Chinese investment firm XY Group to identify opportunities for companies, universities and others.

Duke has found a new way to go global: By sending its basketball broadcast to China.

The university will broadcast its Jan. 15 men's basketball game against Virginia in Mandarin Chinese.

(Image courtesy theduckstop.net)

The free broadcast will be available both live and on-demand at GoDuke.com Inside Access, and marks the first time in ACC history that a game has been broadcast in Chinese, according to a Duke news release.

Duke undergraduate student announcers Yunze Chen, John Sheng and Jesse Sun will call the action live from inside Cameron Indoor Stadium at 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time/. That's 3 a.m. China Standard Time, for those hearty souls hoping to tune in.

Duke is home to more than 1,000 current students, faculty and staff from China, and more than 600 Duke alumni live in China.

Duke’s presence in China includes executive MBA residencies, DukeEngage sites, study abroad opportunities, global health and medical research projects, and numerous faculty research and engagement programs. In 2010, Duke announced plans for a campus to be built in partnership with the city of Kunshan, China. The campus is currently under construction and expected to be completed in the summer of 2012.

“Given the university’s footprint in China, Duke Basketball’s international brand, and the popularity of coach Mike Krzyzewski overseas following the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, this is a logical and intriguing step to take,” said Jon Jackson, Duke’s associate director of athletics for university and public affairs. “We are excited to merge campus and athletics resources to deliver Duke Basketball to a much larger audience.”

GlaxoSmithKline will buy a Chinese pharmaceutical company for about $70 million, a small deal that reinforces GSK's efforts to expand in important emerging markets.

Buying Nanjing MeiRui Pharma will give GSK new urology drugs and a manufacturing facility in China. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, GSK announced this morning.

GSK, which has its North American headquarters in Research Triangle Park and about 5,000 local employees, is seeking other deals to boost its business in fast-growing emerging markets, including India.

GlaxoSmithKline is in talks to buy a Chinese drug company to expand its exposure in that fast-growing market, according to media reports.

The British company expects to announce a deal to acquire Nanjing MeiRui Pharma Co. as soon as this month, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.

The price tag is likely to be modest, about $100 million, Reuters reported.

But the small deal highlights a large imperative for GSK and the other big, global pharmaceutical companies, the Wall Street Journal reported. Drug companies are facing flat to negative sales trends in the U.S. and Europe, forcing them to look to emerging markets for growth.

The Girl Scouts won't allow their uniforms to be made in China after all.

Last month, the owners of a family-run New Jersey factory that makes the uniforms warned that the organization was seeking cheaper bids for the contract, including one from a company in China. That led to outrage among parents, scouts and others that the group was essentially outsourcing its uniform production and costing U.S. jobs.

That led the Girl Scouts of America to alter its request for proposal to require that the uniforms be manufactured in the U.S.

"GSUSA thanks the many Girl Scout parents and volunteers who stood up for their beliefs and showed the 3.4 million Girl Scouts that every voice makes a difference," the group wrote in a statement.