Tianjin's Biopharmaceutical Industry Reports 15.4% YoY Growth in Q1 2026 with Strong Momentum in Innovation and Production

(Source: Tianjin Daily)

Source: Tianjin Daily

As an important component of the city's "1+3+4" modern industrial system, and a key area supported by Tianjin's manufacturing-based municipal strategy, our city’s biopharmaceutical industry delivered impressive results in the first quarter of the "15th Five-Year Plan" opening year — with the total industrial output value of large-scale industries surpassing 26 billion yuan, and the added value of large-scale industries increasing by 15.4% year-on-year. Leading enterprises are operating at full capacity, innovative products are being rapidly rolled out, and service support is precise and efficient, painting a vivid picture of high-quality development in the biopharmaceutical industry.

Recently, reporters visited the production workshop of Tianjin Reach Surgical Instrument Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tianjin Reach Surgical), where production capacity is in full swing. The Class 100,000 clean production area operates in accordance with regulations, while automatic stapling, automatic dispensing, visual automation testing production lines, and precision processing equipment run smoothly. Each process is closely connected and efficiently coordinated.

Jin Shengjie, General Manager of Tianjin Ruiqi Surgical, told reporters that the company is seizing the opportunity for the localization of the medical device industry in China. Focusing on quality improvement, technological innovation, and capacity expansion, the company is deeply cultivating the development of new productive forces and expanding into overseas markets. In the first quarter of this year, the company's output value doubled compared to the same period last year, laying a foundation for rapid growth throughout the year.

Foreign pharmaceutical companies are also developing strongly in Tianjin.

Tianjin Takeda Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Tianjin Takeda) has achieved outstanding results by relying on a mature production system and an international standard quality management system. General Manager Hong Tao told reporters that in the first quarter of 2026, Tianjin Takeda realized a significant increase in output value.

Since the beginning of this year, Tianjin Takeda has been accelerating its layout in Tianjin guided by the concept of "In China, For China," continuously promoting the transformation and application of global innovative achievements in Tianjin. Focusing on key therapeutic areas such as rare diseases and oncology, multiple innovative product projects are proceeding steadily in Tianjin. This not only further strengthens Tianjin's functional position in the global manufacturing and supply systems of multinational pharmaceutical enterprises but also injects new momentum into the city’s biopharmaceutical industry to attract high-end projects and quality resources.

In the six key industrial chains collaboratively developed by the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, biomedicine has always occupied a strategic high ground. Among these, cutting-edge fields such as cell and gene therapy, brain-computer interfaces, nucleic acid drugs, and radiopharmaceuticals are not only the key focus areas of our city's biomedicine industry but also its unique advantageous tracks.

Juventas is a vivid example of our city promoting the transformation of scientific research achievements from laboratories to the industrial front line, achieving full-chain conversion.

At Juventas' production base, a busy yet orderly scene unfolds. Inside the clean cell drug production workshop, bioreactors are running at high speed with stability, fully committed to ensuring product manufacturing. In the first quarter of this year, Juventas successfully completed its capacity expansion. Currently, four new production lines have been fully operational, not only providing solid support for the market supply of its CAR-T (Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-cell Immunotherapy) drug, Relmacabtagene Autoleucel Injection, following its approval for treating relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma, but also strengthening the production foundation for further development in the leukemia treatment sector. Meanwhile, inside the R&D center, researchers are conducting intensive testing in full swing, making every effort to advance the "acceleration and cost reduction" of next-generation cell drugs.

The continuous growth of the industry is inseparable from policy support and ecosystem optimization. In 2025, the output value of Tianjin's biopharmaceutical industry has reached the 100 billion yuan mark, laying a solid foundation for the impressive performance in the first quarter of this year. Last year, our city issued the "Several Measures for Full-chain Support of Biopharmaceutical Innovation Development in Tianjin," with 25 targeted policies that effectively promoted the full utilization of educational and scientific resources alongside clinical medical advantages, continuously enhancing the innovation-driven capabilities and industrialization level of the biopharmaceutical sector.

In terms of industrial layout, our city leverages regional advantages to achieve targeted efforts and differentiated development. Relying on the Bonded Area for biomanufacturing, the High-Tech Zone for creating a Cell Valley and Brain-Machine Interface Valley, the Economic Development Zone for building a Nucleic Acid Drug Industrial Park, and Jinghai District for constructing the Union Medical College Tianjin Base, we have formed a multi-point supported and coordinated industrial structure, achieving a multiplier effect in industrial development. Currently, our city has established a complete biomedicine industry chain covering all aspects from research and development, pilot testing, production, distribution, to application. By strengthening leading enterprises, addressing weaknesses, clustering resources, and optimizing supporting facilities, we promote collaborative efforts and closed-loop development across the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. The resilience and quality-efficiency of industrial development continue to improve.

To address the bottlenecks in industrial development, the city's biopharmaceutical task force also focuses on innovative product research and development. Taking into comprehensive consideration core factors such as clinical value and technological innovation, a mechanism of "early intervention, tailored strategies for each enterprise, full-process guidance, and synchronized research and review" has been implemented for key products under development, to fully expedite the product market entry process. Recently, Juventas' new drug for lymphoma, Yuanruida,CanSinoInfants and Young Children Use Adsorbed Acellular Pertussis (Three-Component) Combined with Diphtheria and Tetanus Vaccine PanKangXin,Lisheng PharmaceuticalThe successive approval and market launch of Voriconazole have enriched the supply of end-products in the industrial chain.

The beginning affects the whole situation, and the start determines the future progress. Our city is accelerating the formulation of the "15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of Biomanufacturing and Biopharmaceutical Industries in Tianjin," focusing on three key tasks: creating "iconic products, iconic enterprises, and iconic carriers." The plan centers on six aspects: "innovation foundation, market breakthrough, digital-intelligent integration, green low-carbon development, service support, and ecological co-construction." This systematic plan aims to expedite the construction of a modern life health industry system and improve the entire biopharmaceutical industrial chain during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period. "The plan has already completed expert review and is currently soliciting opinions from relevant departments, with an expected official release in the near future," said Zhang Yuewei, Director of the Biomedical Department of the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau.

The relevant person in charge of the city's biopharmaceutical task force stated that the next steps will focus on continuously strengthening enterprise services to ensure stable production and capacity expansion for leading companies; concentrating on areas of strength to create national-level innovation platforms; improving specialized policies for niche industries; relying on the investment promotion task force to extend, supplement, and strengthen the industrial chain, promoting the cluster development of sectors such as biomanufacturing and brain-computer interfaces, continuously expanding the industrial scale and enhancing development efficiency, and driving the city’s biopharmaceutical industry to achieve higher-quality development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.