Skip to content 
In the golden autumn of October, the weather is getting cooler, but the “heat” in Jiangbei remains.
This morning, the 10th Pharmaceutical Innovation and Investment Conference kicked off in the new district. This conference, jointly hosted by the China Association for Pharmaceutical Innovation and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, attracted nearly a thousand experts from the academic, industrial and investment sectors, including four academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering. Among them were the heads of well-known pharmaceutical companies such as Simcere Pharmaceutical, Beigene, Hengrui Medicine and Luye Life Sciences Group. The clinical data of eight major innovative drugs were also disclosed for the first time at this event.
When the “most powerful brains” in the field of pharmaceutical innovation and investment gather in the new district, what cutting-edge insights will they bring? Why was this grand event in the medical field chosen to be held in the new district?
In 2001, it made its first landing in Nanjing
When it comes to the biopharmaceutical industry, it seems that the two key words “innovation” and “investment” are always indispensable.
Innovation is the source of vitality for industrial development. From the discovery of brand-new targets to the birth of revolutionary therapies, all originate from this. Investment, on the other hand, is the key to transforming cutting-edge technologies into inclusive products, supporting one new drug after another through a long research and development and clinical cycle.
The Pharmaceutical Innovation and Investment Conference precisely combines these two key words. Since its first convening in 2016, it has been dedicated to exploring global trends in pharmaceutical innovation and building a cooperation platform for “government, industry, academia, research, application and finance”, and has become a “barometer” for domestic pharmaceutical innovation and investment.
In the tenth year of the conference, it was held for the first time in Nanjing and in the new district, bringing more forward-looking topics.
The two-day conference features numerous sub-forums, focusing on cutting-edge fields such as new anti-tumor drugs, gene and cell therapy, and AI-enabled pharmaceutical research and development. It also covers popular topics like nuclear medicine, new drugs for severe injury reduction, and children’s medicine, with renowned scientists and pharmaceutical company executives sharing their insights.
While exploring the development trends of the industry, the conference also has a more open ecosystem. What are the models for the overseas licensing of innovative drugs? How can commercial insurance support the development of innovative drugs? What are the new trends in the reform of medical insurance payment? A variety of policy interpretations and investment and financing strategies, along with industry insights and decision-making references, point out the direction for innovation. On-site, there are also special roadshow sessions and enterprise exhibition areas, providing precise matching opportunities for technology and capital.
It is worth mentioning that in this conference, the “Nanjing Jiangbei New Area – Hong Kong Biomedical Industry Exchange Conference” is also an important sub-venue. The Hong Kong “delegation” had in-depth exchanges with representatives of enterprises and investment and financing institutions in the new district, jointly discussing the development of the biopharmaceutical industry. New sparks collide, and new waves emerge as a result.
Here, enterprises are “queuing up” to go public
A conference, focusing on “venture capital”, with the gathering of national pharmaceutical experts, not only builds up momentum and accelerates the development of the innovative drug industry, but also serves as a window to showcase the vitality of regional industries. As the venue of this conference, the new district’s life and health industry is also booming and is becoming the focus of attention for many “pharmaceutical professionals”.
For instance, on the eve of the conference, a “mystery exploration team” composed of attending guests entered the Biomedical Valley of the new district. Most of the guests came here “out of admiration”, and the on-site communication was very lively.
This park, covering a total area of 20.51 square kilometers, is home to over 1,300 biopharmaceutical enterprises and ranks 8th in the country in terms of comprehensive competitiveness. Up to now, the park has launched 402 drugs and 1,261 medical device products, including 6 first-class new drugs. More than 50 product technologies are the first of their kind both at home and abroad. Such achievements are quite remarkable in the high-tech, high-investment and long-cycle biopharmaceutical industry.
Innovative vitality continues to flow, and in the capital market, the “engine” of the new district also keeps roaring: In June this year, the new district enterprise, Yaojie Ankang, was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Just over a month later, the opening gongs of Vitalibo once again resounded across Hong Kong. Just a 6-minute drive from Yaojie Ankang, Yaokang Bio once created an “industry myth” of going public within five years of its establishment…
At present, the New District Medicine Valley has independently cultivated 7 listed companies. Looking at the “listing reserve pool” of the Medicine Valley, there are still over a dozen seed players “queuing up” to go public. Yingshi Biotech and Yingpai Pharmaceutical have already submitted their applications for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The favorable situation of “orderly echelon and successive listing” of enterprises in the Medicine Valley is attracting more attention.
With both cutting-edge innovations and the ability to attract attention from the capital market, such vigorous vitality makes it self-evident why this conference was held in the new district.
This is an acknowledgement from the industry and also paves the way for more expectations: These medical experts who have come from afar will also inject more confidence and vitality into this fertile land. New cooperation opportunities and new projects are being implemented. On the north bank of the Yangtze River, a more competitive biopharmaceutical industrial cluster is emerging.
