To focus on hotspot issues of global pharmaceutical industry, and build a platform of international exchanges, the 8th China BioMed Innovation and Investment Conference (CBIIC) kicks off on September 25 in Suzhou. Following the purpose of “Promote the Linkage between Social Capital and Innovation, Improve the Innovation Capability of Pharmaceutical Industry”, the CBIIC has attracted over 6,800 pharmaceutical companies and investment and financial institutions at home and abroad, nearly 26,000 participants, and released the global debuts of clinical trial data of 68 innovative drugs, drew 800 plus domestic and foreign innovative projects to make roadshows.

The 8th CBIIC focuses on the vitality of innovation at the source, discussing the integration of capital and innovation of China’s pharmaceutical industry under current international circumstances. The opening ceremony has attracted senior officials, leaders of pharmaceutical industry, experts, scholars, renowned entrepreneurs, and media workers from 100 plus investment institutions, pharmaceutical innovative companies, and research institutions in China and beyond. The 8th CBIIC presented a knowledge feast for the audience.

Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony was chaired by Li Jia, 2022-2023 annual chairman of PhIRDA, director of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He Wei, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and chairman of the Central Committee of Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, Wu Qingwen, mayor, Suzhou Municipal People’s Government, Bonnie Y Chan, Co-Chief Operating Officer of HKEX, extended warm welcomes to senior officials, and experts from the pharmaceutical and investment sectors.

Li Jia

Chairman He Wei said, currently, development of China’s pharmaceutical industry has embarked on a new journey in the new situations. Therefore, it should promote the opening of technology and explore pathways to advance the world-class industrial application. Meanwhile, we should give full play to the pulling effect and leading roles of the pharmaceutical industry.

He Wei

Mayor Wu Qingwen said that as a strategic emerging industry, the pharmaceutical industry is critical to people’s living and the country’s development and security. More importantly, it is also a critical field of a new round of technological revolution and regional competition. At present, Suzhou boasts more than 3,800 pharmaceutical companies with nearly 60,000 employers. The industrial output value reached 218.8 billion yuan. The size of industrial output value has doubled in the past five years, with an average annual growth of 11%. The city now is successfully on the list of national programs of clusters of strategic emerging industries and advanced manufacturing clusters. It was approved to established the only national technological innovation center in the pharmaceutical field. He highly recognized the leading role of the CBIIC in the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Suzhou and other places in China, since the CBIIC has been held in Suzhou for eight times from 2016. In the future, Suzhou will provide stronger policy supply, better innovative systems and more efficient commercial services, greatly promote the linkage of industry and capital to accelerate the building of innovative clusters of pharmaceutical industry with international competitiveness and global influence.

Wu Qingwen

Bonnie Y Chan said, reform in the listing rules launched by HKEX in 2018 has greatly stimulated the vitality of the local market, making Hong Kong an advanced financing center of healthcare. In recent years, the healthcare industry ranks top three in terms of the IPO financing volume in Hong Kong. Looking ahead, HKEX will make constant reform and innovation to make the market more vital, better playing Hong Kong’s role as a bridge connecting China and the whole world.

Bonnie Y Chan

Feng Lan, secretary-general, PhIRDA, chaired the keynote speeches.

Feng Lan

Yu Xubo, chairman & secretary of Party Leadership Group, China General Technology (Group) Holding Co., Ltd. addressed a keynote speech entitled Leverage the Advantages of Central Enterprises’ Medical Institutes to Promote Pharmaceutical Innovation and Development. He introduced Genertec boasts the advantages needed for establishing the integration platform of clinical research, achieving the coordinated development of clinical trials and businesses and thus can provide holistic and standardized services for pharmaceutical companies to conduct clinical trials of new drugs. Meanwhile, with its strong commercial network, Genertec is critical to China’s pharmaceutical commercial exchanges. It establishes close cooperative ties with domestic and foreign leading pharmaceutical companies. Going forward, Genertec would like to work jointly with pharmaceutical and medical devices companies, fully leveraging its own advantages to build an international first-class serving and application platform for drug and medical devices R&D.

Yu Xubo

Wang Zhongmin, chairman of Shenzhen Financial Stability & Development Institute and former vice-chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund addressed a keynote speech entitled Investment Graph and Capital Structure of Pharmaceutical Innovation. Wang first discussed liquidity shocks that the pharmaceutical investment is suffering from. Based on that, he calls upon new investment graph and capital structure for investment in China’s pharmaceutical innovation. Under new circumstances, Wang showed new investment graph from the perspective of the features of state-owned assets and pointed out that the core to drawing investment for the local is to build a brand-new industrial chain.

Wang Zhongmin

Sun Lei, director-general of Center for Medical Device Evaluation(CMDE), NMPA addressed a keynote speech entitled Building a Modern Medical Devices Review and Approval System to Promote High-quality Industrial Development. Sun said, recent years have witnessed the rapid development of medical devices industry, with various high-end medical devices approved. China has become the world’s second largest medical devices market. CMDE has constantly encouraged innovation, deepen the reform of review and approval, and implemented various measures to promote the high-quality development of the industry. Sun deeply delved into the challenges of key technologies and suggested that companies and related parties should give priorities to making breakthroughs in key technologies, key materials, and key spare parts and using homegrown medical devices with independent intellectual property rights to tackle technological challenges. He also suggested that, it is needed to strengthen top-level design and policy support for better industrial development.

Sun Lei

The first panel focused on “Fireside Chat: Future Talk in the Capital Winter” with Song Ruilin, executive president, PhIRDA as the moderator. Ding Jian, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, dean of School of Pharmacy, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Leon Wang, executive vice president, International and China President of AstraZeneca, Wu Xiaobin, president and chief operating officer of BeiGene, Ren Jinsheng, 2020-2021 annual chairman of PhIRDA, and chairman of the Board & CEO of Simcere Pharmaceutical participated in the panel.

They all shared their viewpoints on the development of the pharmaceutical industry. With emerging innovative technologies, innovative achievements of domestic companies still win the recognition of the international community, and quality projects still attract attention from investors. In this context, companies should further pursue self-development, strengthen innovative capability, and make anti-risk ability stronger. Moreover, they call upon to improve regulation systems, and forge an pharmaceutical R&D ecology of harmonious development. Winter will eventually pass, and spring is sure to come. Participants reached a consensus that the pharmaceutical industry focusing on the health meets people’s rigid demand. They are confidence in the bright future of Chinese pharmaceutical innovation and believes that Chinese pharmaceutical R&D industry will take innovation as a priority, spark inspirations, to jointly create a bright future.

Panel

The second panel focused on the topic of “Autumn Chord: Voice of Industry Break the Logjam”, with Chen Li, founder, executive director, CEO of Hua Medicine as the moderator. Bonnie Y Chan, Tian Yuan, founding partner of YuanMing Capital, and chairman of Mevion Medical Systems, Ding Lieming, chairman of the Board & CEO of Betta Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. and 2016-2017 annual chairman of PhIRDA, and Li Qian, president of Finance SBU of Healthcare, Culture & Tourism, PingAn Bank participated in the panel discussion.

Considering the current market environment, and sharing related cases, participants suggested that companies should emphasize technological reserve, and take priority according to the importance to ensure cash flow. At the same time, it is needed to insist on starting from clinical needs and explore direction for development.

Panel

Held successfully for eight times, CBIIC has become a brand event of exchanges and cooperation between the pharmaceutical and investment sectors. As the most popular pharmaceutical innovation and investment platform in the Asia-Pacific area, CBIIC has build a authoritative, professional, and multi-dimensional channels of dialogues for leaders in the industry, experts and scholars, and investors at home and abroad. Looking ahead, CBIIC will continue to focus on the trends in pharmaceutical innovation, share viewpoints on related policies, and contributing to Chinese pharmaceutical innovation.