Fosun Kairos and East China University of Science and Technology Establish Joint Innovation Institute to Accelerate Cell Therapy Translation
Fosun Pharmaceutical
Healthcare Industry Group
Fosun Kairos
Developer of Tumor Immune Cell Therapy Technologies and Products
April 15, Shanghai — At a critical juncture when biopharmaceutical innovation and transformation are accelerating into uncharted territory, a strategic cooperation aimed at bridging the "last mile" between cutting-edge research and industrial application has officially begun. Fosun Kite Biotechnology Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Fosun Pharmaceutical, and Professor Zhang Lixin's team from the National Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering at East China University of Science and Technology jointly signed a five-year agreement in Shanghai to build a university-enterprise collaboration platform. They also inaugurated the “Joint Technology Innovation and Transfer Research Institute for Cell Therapy — National Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering & Fosun Kite.” This move signifies that both parties will integrate top industry resources with national-level scientific research capabilities to jointly address core manufacturing and quality control challenges in the cell therapy field, committing to accelerate more "innovations from China" into clinical applications.
Signing and Unveiling
Under the witness of Zhao Liming, Standing Committee Member of the Party Committee and Vice President of East China University of Science and Technology, Liu Qin, Dean of the School of Bioengineering, Gu Haihua, Senior Vice President of R&D at Fosun Kite, and Gu Miao, Executive Director of Business Development at Fosun Kite, Zhang Lixin, Foreign Academician of the European Academy of Sciences, Chief Scientist of the Joint Innovation Research Institute, and Vice Dean of the School of Bioengineering, together with Zhang Wenjie, Co-President of Fosun Pharmaceutical and Chairman of Fosun Kite, signed the agreement on behalf of both parties. Subsequently, Vice President Zhao Liming and Chairman Zhang Wenjie jointly unveiled the Joint Research Institute, marking the birth of a collaborative innovation entity focused on cell therapy process development, intelligent manufacturing, and quality control.
Deepening Cooperation: From "Blood Transfusion" to "Hematopoiesis"
This cooperation is by no means a simple project commission, but a deep coupling of "capability embedding" and "system co-construction." According to the agreement, in the next five years, the two parties will carry out multi-level cooperation around the principle of "resource sharing and mutual benefit."
Tackling R&D Challenges, Clearing Conversion Bottlenecks:Fosun Kite will leverage its extensive pipeline layout and clinical insights to propose cutting-edge research topics and provide financial support; Zhang Lixin's team will utilize its profound expertise in synthetic biology, bioreactor engineering, and intelligent biomanufacturing, particularly its breakthrough achievements in core processes such as the "integrated rapid testing solution" for cell therapy, to offer key technical support for industrialization. The goal of both parties is to significantly shorten the development and translation cycle of cell therapy products.
Talent Co-cultivation, Building an Innovative Ecosystem：The collaboration will go beyond individual projects to systematically build an integrated talent chain of "industry-academia-research-application." Both parties plan to continuously cultivate high-end, versatile talents who are well-versed in cutting-edge science and familiar with industry practices by jointly establishing training bases, developing customized courses, and facilitating two-way personnel exchanges. The aim is to create a sustainable new ecosystem for both academia and the industry.
High-Level Voices: Highlighting Strategic Consensus
Zhao Liming, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President of East China University of Science and Technology, conveyed the congratulations from Jiang Chuanhai, Secretary of the Party Committee, and Xuan Fuzhen, President of the university. He pointed out: "Universities are an important part of China's strategic scientific and technological strength. This deep collaboration with Fosun Kite Biotechnology Co., Ltd. is a model for promoting the deep integration of the education chain, talent chain, industry chain, and innovation chain. Our National Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering has profound engineering heritage. We look forward to leveraging this cooperation to precisely channel the platform's research advantages into the areas where the industry is most in need, empowering the high-quality development of China's biopharmaceutical industry."
Future Outlook
As the Joint Research Institute begins its substantive operations, the collaboration between the two parties will enter a phase of substantial advancement. The establishment of this university-enterprise collaborative innovation consortium not only provides a solid technological engine for the future pipeline layout of Fosun Kite Biotechnology Co., Ltd., but also opens up an efficient channel for the transformation of cutting-edge research achievements at East China University of Science and Technology. Both parties look forward to this "top academic" and "leading industry" partnership injecting strong momentum into the overall advancement of China's cell therapy industry, ultimately benefiting patients worldwide.
