On September 25, 2021, China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association (PhIRDA) together with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), Research and Development International (RDI) and iMeta Health Information Consulting, and with Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) as Special Supporter, held the 2021 China BioMed Innovation and Investment Conference (2021 CBIIC) in Suzhou Industrial Park. Initiated in 2016, CBIIC has been successfully held for 6 times and received extensive attention and acknowledgment from pharmaceutical and investment industry. To continue to promote the linkage between social capital and pharmaceutical innovation and improve the innovation capability of pharmaceutical industry, the CBIIC focuses on China’s latest policies in pharmaceutical industry, explore the new trends of global pharmaceutical R&D and hot issues in investment and financing circle. The CBIIC was built as an authorized, comprehensive, professional and international high-level platform for the industry leaders, experts, scholars, domestic and foreign pharmaceutical innovation enterprises and investors to learn the trend of innovation and discuss new investment channels and innovative cooperation strategies.

The Opening Ceremony of the 2021 CBIIC has received high attention and praise from the domestic and foreign pharmaceutical and investment communities, attracting more than 2,000 participants from domestic and foreign investment, pharmaceutical innovative companies, research institutes and media at home and abroad, including industry leaders, experts and scholars, entrepreneurs and heads, etc., to interpret medical policy new change, new trends and challenges, to explore future of medical innovation and capital under the global pharmaceutical development.

2021 CBIIC was co-organized by Huatai Securities Co., Ltd., Qilu Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd., Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Limited, Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd., and Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd, supported by Invest in Denmark, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) , Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhongguancun Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (ZVCA), National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR), Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (JPMA), HK Bio-Med Innotech Association (HKBMIA), BioCentury, Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment R&D-based Pharmaceutical Association Committee (RDPAC), MENET, and so on.

Ren Jinsheng, 2020-2021 Annual Chairman of PhIRDA, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Simcere Pharmaceutical Group chaired the welcome remarks session in the Opening Ceremony. Li Yan, Chairman of PhIRDA, President of Qilu Pharmaceutical Group, Nicolas Aguzin, Chief Executive Officer of HKEX, Sha Yan, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, President and CEO of Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Xu Kunlin, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, Secretary of the CPC Suzhou Municipal Committee addressed in the session and expressed warm welcome to the participants as well as great wishes to the conference.

Chair of Welcome Remarks Session: Chairman of the Board Ren Jinsheng

Chairman LI Yan noted in her speech that, the pharmaceutical industry is a key industry to ensure people's health, and also the focus of the national strategic emerging industry and global high-tech industry competition. At present, China's pharmaceutical industry is ushering in an active and rapid development innovation era, transforming from a pharmaceutical manufacturing power to an innovation power, and promoting all aspects of China's pharmaceutical industry to be innovative and sustainable. Under the globalization and internationalization of pharmaceutical innovation, the 2021 CBIIC build a platform for benign interaction between the pharmaceutical industry and capital by seeking for the future based on the present. Chairman LI Yan believed that all participants would be inspired and enlightened. Through communication and contact, participants could achieve cooperation and mutual development!

Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin Gave a Virtual Welcome Remark

General manager Sha Yan expressed that scientific and technological innovation was so essential that could relate to the holistic development of China, while biotech is a typical knowledge-intensive and capital-intensive frontier field. The pharmaceutical industry in Shenzhen is stepping into the independent innovation R&D stage, meanwhile, its capital market has all resources for innovation, bearing the responsibility to play its role. Developing the biotech industry is to practice President Xi Jingping’s thought on bettering people’s well-being, but also ensure the future key field supported by capital market service. By the joint efforts of all parties, high-quality enterprises with first-class innovation capability will emerge, which further improve people's life and health and boost economic and social development.

Secretary Xu Kunlin Gave a Welcome Remark

Li Jia, Chairman-elected of PhIRDA, Director of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of State Key Laboratory of Drug Research, chaired the keynote speeches session.

Deputy Director-General Zhang Honggang Gave a Speech

Jiang Hualiang, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2015-2016 Annual Chairman of PhIRDA, Professor of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, delivered a speech named AI Empowers Drug Research and Discovery. According to Academician Jiang, AI will be the game changer in the field of biopharmaceutical as the most important technology that shows the potential in reducing R&D costs, accelerating R&D cycle and improving success rate. The research and development highly rely on the target discovery and confirmation, however, the lack of new target has become a common problem faced by new drug developer all over the world. AI can accelerate multiple links of new drug R&D, from target discovery to target confirmation, from spotting lead molecule to perfecting lead molecule, as well as further clinical research. In addition, Academician Jiang also mentioned the difficulties faced by AI technology, such as the ban for data sharing due to confidentiality, data bias, model bias and so on.

Deputy Director Zhou Siyuan Delivered a Speech

Song Ruilin, Executive President of PhIRDA, delivered a speech titled Review and Prospect of the Development of Pharmaceutical Innovation in China. President Song put forward constructive suggestions from multiple perspectives by analyzing the weak links and challenges in the current industrial chain. Policy leads China's pharmaceutical innovation development, from the National Science and Technology Major Project for Major New Drug Research and Development in 2008 to Reforming the Review & Approval System for Drugs in 2015, with a series positive policies for China's pharmaceutical innovation. China is changing from "imitation" to "innovation", from manufacturing to innovation power as a historic mission. During the 14th Five-year Plan that carry innovation-driven development, science and technology self-reliance and self-improvement as a strategic support, the health and pharmaceutical field as the key field should strengthen basic research and basic research institutions. President Song pointed that basic research faces four challenges: first, bio-pharmaceutical innovation is affected by the funding stage and distribution; second is the potential unbalanced production and supply of core resources; third, the mechanism and evaluation of innovation restrict its ability to innovate; fourthly, the type and evaluation mechanism of talent still need to be improved."

Managing Director Zhang Jiqiang Delivered a Speech

The two panels included “Trends on Pharmaceutical Innovation Industry” and “Investment and Pharmaceutical Innovation Development”. The former panel was chaired by Chen Qiyu, 2012-2013 Annual Chairman of PhIRDA, Executive Director and Co-CEO of Fosun International and participated by Zhao Baige, Vice Chair of the 12th NPC Foreign Affairs Committee of the People's Republic of China, Chair of the Advisory Committee of BRI International Think Tank, CASS, Chair of Advisory Committee of RDI; Jiang Hualiang, Academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2015-2016 Annual Chairman of PhIRDA, Professor of Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences; He Ruyi, Chairman of PhIRDA International Regulatory Science Specialty Committee, CMO of RemeGen, CMO of SDIC, Former Chief Scientist of CDE; LI Zhenfu, Chairman and CEO of GL Capital; and James Xue, Vice-Chairman of PhIRDA Drug R&D Specialty Committee, Founder, Chairman of the Board, Director and CEO of CANbridge, Vice Director of the China Alliance for Rare Disease.

Panelists noted that, according to the report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, China's economy has shifted from high-speed growth to high-quality development, which is at a crucial stage of transforming the growth model, optimizing the economic structure and transforming the drivers of growth. Bio-pharmaceutical industry undoubtedly plays an important role. For biopharmaceutical enterprises, factors including policy, capital, technology, talent, clinical research, market and so on are taken into consideration for innovation transformation and development. Among all factors, policies for industrial development are extremely important, requiring the cooperation of multiple government departments to create a good ecological environment for enterprises. Industrial policies also promote the application of innovative drugs, such as the green-light channel, accelerating review, and negotiation for innovative drugs into medical reimbursement. These policies are beneficial the marketing of innovative drugs, so as to shorten the initial investment capital cycle and boost innovators’ confidence.

Panel 2: Investment and Pharmaceutical Innovation Development

Moderator: Song Ruilin, Executive President of PhIRDA

Panelists：

Kang Wei, Vice Chair of CAEFI, Managing Director of RDPAC

Fang Jianmin, Vice-Chairman of PhIRDA Drug R&D Specialty Committee, CEO and CSO of RemeGen

Wang Yinxiang, Vice-Chairman of PhIRDA Drug R&D Specialty Committee, Chairman and CEO of Jacobio Pharmaceuticals

Christina BAO, Managing Director, Co-Head of Sales & Marketing of HKEX

Dai Wen, Head of China/HK Healthcare, Huatai Securities

Chen Fei, Managing Partner of Lilly Asia Ventures

The success of 2021 CBIIC facilitated the cooperation between global capital and China’s pharmaceutical innovation, deepened the global capital and pharmaceutical innovation industries’ understanding on China and global trend of pharmaceutical innovation and financing, made contribution to the full release of the vitality of pharmaceutical innovation and the timely and efficient transformation of innovative achievements and would also have a more positive and important impact on promoting the transformation and upgrading, innovation and development of pharmaceutical industry in China.

The three-day conference focused on scientific and technological innovation achievements and new trends in global pharmaceutical investment and financing, shared China's latest pharmaceutical industry policies, and comprehensively discussed global innovation development trends. A total of 18 distinctive roadshow sessions and themed forums were held, including 49 theme reports and 115 roadshow projects, covering Denmark, Japan, the Netherlands, Canada, the United States and other countries, bridging capital and innovation and promoting innovation achievements to the world.

Plenary Session of 2021 CBIIC Opening Ceremony

2022 CBIIC will be held on September 23-25, 2022. See you in Suzhou again!