BioMap Partners with HKIC to Accelerate Bio-computing Development and Files IPO Prospectus

Jun 24, 2024 17:04 CST Updated 17:04

BioMap

Developer of Innovative Drug R&D Platform

Focus of Cooperation

The Port Investment Company will actively pool and guide resources to support BioMap in taking root in Hong Kong for development.
BioMap to Launch Accelerator Program "BioMap BioX" to Support Over 50 Early-Stage Life Science R&D Projects in Hong Kong via Its Large Model Platform in the Next Five Years

(Hong Kong, June 24) Hong Kong Investment Management Limited (HKIM) signed a strategic cooperation agreement with BioMap today. HKIM will provide comprehensive resource matching and support for BioMap's subsequent development in Hong Kong, promoting Hong Kong to become an international bio-computing hub. This is the second strategic partner announced by HKIM within two weeks, reflecting its full-speed efforts to drive the development of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology ecosystem through investment.

In response to the strategic cooperation with Hong Kong Investment Corporation, BioMap held the first "International Bio-Computing Innovation Summit" today and signed a strategic cooperation agreement during the summit, marking the beginning of deep collaboration between the two parties. The aim is to help Hong Kong build a bio-computing (Bio-computing) ecosystem.Mr. Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, witnessed the signing ceremony and delivered a speech. Ms. Karen Chan, CEO of Hong Kong Investment Corporation, and Mr. Wei Liu, Co-founder and CEO of BioMap, signed on behalf of their respective parties.

Figure 1: Ms. Chan Ka-kei, CEO of Hong Kong Investment Management Limited (left), and Mr. Liu Wei, Co-founder and CEO of BioMap (right), sign a strategic cooperation agreement, witnessed by Mr. Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (center).

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government's Financial Secretary, Mr. Paul Chan, stated: "The integration of artificial intelligence and life sciences is opening up a new frontier in biocomputing. Hong Kong has a solid foundation in both areas and should strive to accelerate the development of biocomputing to seize the 'first mover advantage'." He pointed out that Hong Kong's thriving innovation and technology ecosystem, the development of AI infrastructure, the convergence of domestic and international data, as well as its advantages as an international financial center, all form a strong basis for the development of biocomputing in Hong Kong.

Figure 2: Mr. Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, delivers the opening remarks.

On the importance of the strategic cooperation between Hong Kong Investment Management Limited and BioMap, he said: "The innovation center of BioMap will become a focal point for global bio-computing research, a center for relevant translational research and commercialization of results, a platform to promote cooperation among innovators, industries, and investors, and a base for nurturing relevant talents. The technologies and innovative spirit brought by enterprises like BioMap, including their R&D efforts and job creation, will help Hong Kong cultivate talents with AI literacy and interdisciplinary knowledge, which is beneficial to further enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness and attracting more technology companies to cluster in Hong Kong."

Ms. Chen Jiaqi, CEO of Hong Kong Investment Corporation, stated: "The investment themes selected by Hong Kong Investment Corporation include hard technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). Through the investment in BioMap, Hong Kong Investment Corporation not only seeks reasonable returns but also aims to leverage its ability to gather and guide resources, helping BioMap establish strong roots in Hong Kong and grow vigorously. This will drive innovation and development both vertically and horizontally across related industrial chains, contributing to the economy and society of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Investment Corporation supports BioMap in preparing to set up a BioCompute Innovation Center in Hong Kong, expanding the scale and depth of its operations in the city, and assisting it in connecting with a broader international network."

Figure 3: Ms. Chen Jiaqi, CEO of Hong Kong Investment Management Co., Ltd.

Mr. Liu Wei, Co-founder and CEO of BioMap, stated: "We are very grateful for the support and guidance from Hong Kong Investment Corporation. We hope to leverage Hong Kong's international positioning, free financial policies, internationally aligned IP and data regulations to gain more trust from multinational clients in global competition and maintain our leading position. Moreover, Hong Kong boasts a wealth of AI and biotech interdisciplinary talent and an innovative academic atmosphere. We look forward to transforming more unique ideas into tangible AIGP* protein products at our innovation center in Hong Kong. Through our global production, business network, and ecosystem partners, we aim to further realize the value of innovation."(*AI Generated Protein, AI-designed new proteins, see below for details)

Announcement of Establishing BioMap InnoHub and BioX Acceleration Program in Hong Kong

BioMap Announces Establishment of Its First International Innovation Center (BioMap InnoHub) in Hong Kong to Attract Global Innovation and Foster Local Technology Teams, Accelerating the Development of Hong Kong’s AI for Life Science Ecosystem. The University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Cyberport Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation attended the inauguration ceremony as BioMap's ecosystem partners.

Figure 4: BioMap, together with representatives from the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong Science Park, and Hong Kong Cyberport, holds the launch ceremony of BioMap InnoHub and the lighting-up event for the Hong Kong ecosystem.

Figure 5: BioMap Senior Vice President Jiarun Qu Launches Bio-Computing Innovation Acceleration Plan

The first project to be implemented at its innovation center is the "BioMap BioX Biocomputing Innovation Acceleration Program." This program is expected to support more than 50 cutting-edge early-stage life science R&D projects over the next five years. Priority review will be given to projects recommended by Hong Kong universities and ecosystem partners. For selected projects, BioMap will leverage its large life science model xTrimo and AIGP platform technology* to provide technical support to researchers and entrepreneurs. It will also help them connect with global flagship companies and investors, explore more application scenarios, and accelerate the transformation of R&D ideas into marketable products and industrialized companies. This will enable the life sciences industry to start up and grow as rapidly as internet companies.(*See detailed explanation below)

Summit Gathers International Speakers

Exploring Bio-computation Empowering New Drug Development and Green Technology

In response to the strategic cooperation with Hong Kong Investment Corporation, BioMap hosted the first "International Bio-Computing Innovation Summit" in Hong Kong on the same day of signing the agreement, gathering representatives from BioMap's clients and ecosystem partners. Senior executives from multinational pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Lilly China, green technology enterprises Lanzatech and Syngenta, as well as scholar representatives from Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA, delivered keynote speeches and participated in panel discussions to jointly explore bio-computing and its future application scenarios, including accelerating new drug development to improve human health and expediting green technology innovation to contribute to global sustainable development.

Figure 6: Thematic Talks Related to Drug Development

Figure 7: Thematic Talks on Sustainable Development

Based on BioMap's self-developed xTrimo, a life science foundational large model with hundreds of billions of parameters, the company further launched the AIGP (AI Generated Protein) platform last year. This platform aims to provide life science researchers with efficient and reliable protein design and optimization solutions. To date, BioMap has signed over two hundred users based on the AIGP platform, including international pharmaceutical companies, leading CDMOs*, innovative drug developers, synthetic biology, green technology representative enterprises, and research institutions.(*Pharmaceutical Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization)

Looking ahead, BioMap will be based in Hong Kong, focusing on cutting-edge protein application fields. It will provide AI large model technology and ecosystem empowerment to assist research and industry teams in achieving innovative R&D goals such as AIGP. Additionally, BioMap will collaborate with global ecosystem partners to promote a series of innovative activities. Together with executives from multinational pharmaceutical companies, university scholars, and AI life science entrepreneurs, BioMap will explore the practical applications, trends, and challenges of large models in life sciences, jointly building a sustainable and thriving AI life science ecosystem.

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About BioMap

BioMap is a life science AI large model company with disruptive technology, founded by Robin Li and Liu Wei in 2020. The company is committed to combining cutting-edge AI and biotechnology, building the xTrimo platform, a foundational large model in life sciences centered on protein language, with hundreds of billions of parameters. It models biological evolution, decodes the laws of life, and brings generative capabilities to the frontier discovery problems of the life science industry. It has achieved a series of breakthrough results in innovative drug design, target discovery, de novo design of proteases, green technology, industrial innovation, consumption upgrade, and other fields, thereby contributing to human health and sustainable social development. BioMap is one of the second batch of key enterprise partners signed and settled in Hong Kong by the government's introduced key enterprise office.