Ping An Insurance, a technology-powered retail financial services group, and Shionogi, a research driven pharmaceutical company headquartered in Osaka, agreed to form drug discovery joint ventures in Hong Kong and Shanghai in a $780m deal. "We are excited to have completed the joint venture agreement and to now be prepared to make a full-scale start. Ping An Group has a world-leading platform and AI technology in the healthcare field, in addition to their strength in the insurance & financial field. By fusing Ping An's strengths with Shionogi's strengths as a drug discovery-oriented pharmaceutical company in this joint venture, we will work together to provide total healthcare solutions for the benefit of patients, families, healthcare professionals and society as early as possible. We believe this alliance represents a very significant step toward our goal of creating new platforms to shape the future of healthcare," John Keller, Shionogi Senior Executive Officer, Senior Vice President, Global Business Division.