Policy Support and Innovation Drive the Rise of Nanjing's Biopharmaceutical Industry Cluster

Original Title: Policy Support + Innovation Empowerment: The Rise of Nanjing's Biomedical Industry Cluster

【The Spirit of the Fourth Plenary Session at the Grassroots Level】

◎Reporter Zhang Ye, Science and Technology Daily

In the severe winter of 2025, as the flu season swept across China, a new drug named "Ji Ke Shu," born in the Nanjing Biopharmaceutical Valley, gained attention for its breakthrough efficacy of "one-dose cure." This Category I anti-flu drug, independently developed by Nanjing Zhengxiang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhengxiang Pharmaceutical"), took only six years from project initiation to approval, setting a new record for the fastest development speed of similar drugs in China.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China emphasized the need to strengthen original innovation and core technology breakthroughs, promote the deep integration of scientific and industrial innovation, and advance the integrated development of education, science, and talent. In recent years, Nanjing has positioned itself as a highland for industrial scientific innovation by strengthening industry-academia-research collaboration, attracting and cultivating top-tier talent, and optimizing the industrial ecosystem to drive high-quality development in the biopharmaceuticals sector. In 2025, Nanjing had three Class I innovative drugs approved, ranking among the top cities in China, with an expected annual revenue from the biopharmaceuticals industry surpassing 225 billion yuan.

Enterprise Benchmark Rapid Growth

As a new generation of influenza virus RNA polymerase inhibitor, Jikeshu breaks through the limitations of traditional neuraminidase inhibitors in terms of mechanism, directly targeting the key steps of viral RNA replication, achieving a dual leap in efficacy and medication adherence.

When the drug was first proposed, the research team targeted the pain points of traditional anti-influenza virus drugs — the need for continuous medication over five days and frequent adverse reactions. Through molecular structure innovation, the team successfully broke through the patent barriers of multinational pharmaceutical companies. However, during the clinical trial phase, they were hit by the pandemic. Under immense pressure, the team managed to enroll 723 patients in Phase III within 32 days during the peak flu season of the 2023 Spring Festival, setting a rare speed record in China.

Yang Jinfu, Chairman of Zhengxiang Pharmaceuticals, told reporters: "The rapid approval of Jikeshu would not have been possible without the strong support of the local government." Nanjing's Jiangbei New Area provided the company with "one-on-one" services such as financing matchmaking, R&D center construction, and registration application. The clinical funding policies particularly addressed the urgent need for research and development funds. The branch of Jiangsu Provincial Medical Products Administration provided crucial guidance for the product registration inspection.

In Nanjing, similar innovative pharmaceutical benchmarks are constantly emerging. The "gene synthesis scissors" of Nanjingjinsirui Science & Technology Biology Corp. have captured 30% of the global market share, reducing the cost of DNA synthesis per gram to 1/20 of what it was a decade ago; the "Shihe Hawk Eye" multi-cancer early screening kit from Nanjing Shihe Gene Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has obtained EU CE certification and U.S. FDA Breakthrough Device Designation; Nanjing IASO Biotherapeutics Co., Ltd. and Legend Biotech Corporation’s approved CAR-T therapies account for 1/3 of China's share.

Currently, Nanjing's biopharmaceutical industry has formed a full-cycle ecosystem of "basic research - clinical trials - industrialization." The Biopharmaceutical Valley in Jiangbei New Area alone has attracted more than 1,300 industrial chain enterprises, with over 50 product technologies being internationally pioneering.

The Innovation Ecosystem Continues to Improve

When it comes to new drug development, the industry often uses the "three tens" to describe the difficulty: a $1 billion investment, a decade-long R&D cycle, and a one-tenth success rate.

But Nanjing's biopharmaceutical companies are not fighting alone, as they have strong support from platforms, policies, and funding.

In 2024, the establishment of the National University Biomedical Regional Technology Transfer and Transformation Center (Nanjing, Jiangsu) has bridged the "last mile" for the transformation of scientific research achievements. The center has built 10 technology transfer platforms with tens of millions of dollars worth of equipment fully accessible to universities; a 1.2 billion yuan discretionary fund has been set up to provide "fault-tolerant" support for early-stage projects; and a mechanism of "early engagement + dedicated proxy services" has been established to help 17 cross-regional projects shorten the approval process.

To date, the center has established cooperation with 79 universities across China, selected 1,467 scientific and technological achievements, and promoted the落地转化 of 49 projects. By 2025, the global brain-computer interface industry is accelerating breakthroughs, and Nanjing City promptly released the 'Nanjing Action Plan for Promoting Innovation and Breakthroughs in the Brain-Computer Interface Industry (2026-2030).'

Nanjing University Takes the Lead in Responding to the Establishment of a Brain-Computer Interface Research Institute to Strengthen Basic Research, Initiating the Development of a "Closed-Loop Brain-Computer Interface Vagus Nerve Stimulation System" to Combine Brain-Computer Interfaces with Metabolic Disease Treatment; "Bright Pupil," Developed by Mountain and Sea Medical, Becomes China’s First Deep Brain Electrophysiological Recording and Stimulation Device, with Surgical Positioning Accuracy Reaching 10 Micrometers; Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital Plans to Establish a Dedicated Brain-Computer Interface Ward, Continuously Expanding Application Scenarios in the Medical Field.

Behind the collaborative innovation between universities and enterprises lies the dual guarantee of policy and funding. Nanjing has successively issued a package of policy documents, including the "Several Policy Measures of Nanjing City to Promote High-Quality Development of the Biomedical Industry," covering the entire chain from talent research, industrial ecosystem, to overseas expansion. By 2025, Nanjing will establish the Zijin Biomedical Fund with a total scale of 2 billion yuan, while the Jiangbei New Area will gather 14 special funds with a total scale exceeding 5.7 billion yuan, providing financial "liquidity" for innovative projects.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party proposed to accelerate high-level technological self-reliance and strength, leading the development of new quality productive forces. "The rise of Nanjing's biopharmaceutical industry is a vivid practice of this concept," said Zhu Chaoping, Deputy Director of the Nanjing Science and Technology Bureau. Standing at a new starting point, Nanjing will continue to improve the innovation ecosystem of the biopharmaceutical industry, accelerate the transformation of innovative achievements, and turn the 'primary productive force' in laboratories into the 'primary driving force' for high-quality development. (Zhang Ye)

Original Title: Policy Support + Innovation Empowerment: The Rise of Nanjing's Biomedical Industry Cluster Source: Science and Technology Daily