Global Drugmakers’ Execs Talk About Shanghai Biopharma Sector’s Development at IBIWS
Qian Tongxin
DATE:  Oct 12 2021
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Global Drugmakers’ Execs Talk About Shanghai Biopharma Sector’s Development at IBIWS Global Drugmakers’ Execs Talk About Shanghai Biopharma Sector’s Development at IBIWS

(Yicai Global) Oct. 12 -- Executives from the world’s top pharmaceutical companies joined the International Biopharma Industry Week Shanghai 2021 to discuss the development of the city’s biopharmaceutical industry.

Shanghai has an important strategic position for the development of China’s biomedicine, said Wang Xiaodong, founder of BeiGene and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences. The three companies he has invested in -- BeiGene, Clover Biopharmaceuticals, and Sironax -- have all set up research and development centers in the Chinese city, he added.

Geoff Martha, chairman and chief executive officer of Medtronic, believes that the establishment of Shanghai’s Nasdaq-like Star Market and development of China’s medical digitalization have attracted attention.

China is expected to become an important innovation base for next-generation medical technology and solutions, also due to patients willing to accept digital and mobile technologies with an open mind, Martha said, noting that this can lay a unique foundation for medical tech firms to adopt innovative business models.

The contract manufacturing organization industry will play an important role in promoting Shanghai as a world-class biopharma industry hub, according to Felix Gutsche, president of Boehringer Ingelheim China, noting that Shanghai is moving towards building a tech innovation center with global influence.

The government needs to further strengthen the creation of an original environment and enhance the attraction for talent and capital, said Li Jia, director of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

China is AstraZeneca’s second-largest market and the UK-Swedish drugmaker is proud to be the biggest multinational drugs company operating in the country, said Pascal Sariot, its global chief executive. The recent upgrade of AstraZeneca’s global research and development facility in Shanghai reflects the center’s increasing importance within the firm’s global network.

Many startups have become important players in the innovation of China’s biomedical industry in recent years, said Zhan Yuyin, chairman of E Fund Management, adding that pharmaceutical innovation requires large investments and support.

“To better support the development of the industry and embrace innovation, it is important to build an equity investment platform, and extend equity-related business to a whole cycle of equity investment,” Zhan noted.

Liang Zhiwen, CEO of JP Morgan China, believes that Shanghai has made considerable progress in the biomedical industry, and it has gradually become one of the sector’s centers in China, leading the way in terms of investment environment, scientific research capabilities, and talent reserves.

Editor: Futura Costaglione

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Keywords:   IBIWS,biopharma,Shanghai