Wuxi International Institute of Life Sciences Leverages CIIE to Accelerate Global Healthcare Integration and Onboard 12 Innovative Enterprises

Shanghai, China – November 6, 2020: Today, the Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Park, jointly established by the Wuxi Municipal Government and Wuxi High-Tech Zone in collaboration with AstraZeneca, made another appearance at the China International Import Expo (hereinafter referred to as “CIIE”). The park introduced 12 innovative enterprises from both domestic and overseas markets, facilitated two innovation collaborations among its resident companies, and witnessed several important unveiling ceremonies and signing events. Attendees included provincial-level officials such as Hui Jianlin, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province; Helena Sångeland, Swedish Ambassador to China; Huang Lan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government; Zhao Jianjun, Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Commerce; Fei Shaoyun, Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Foreign Affairs Office; and Yin Jianqing, President of the Jiangsu Council for the Promotion of International Trade. Also present were Jiang Min, Vice Mayor of Wuxi, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Wuxi High-Tech Zone, and Secretary of the Xinwu District Committee; Zhou Changqing, Vice Mayor of Wuxi; relevant officials from Wuxi City and Wuxi High-Tech Zone; AstraZeneca executives including Wang Lei, Global Executive Vice President and President of International Business and China; Lai Minglong, General Manager of AstraZeneca China; Xu Jing, Vice President of AstraZeneca China and Head of Digital and Commercial Innovation; Huang Bin, Vice President of AstraZeneca China and Head of Corporate Affairs and Market Access; as well as representatives of the signing companies.

The massive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy continues, accelerating transformation across industries and continuously giving rise to new business models. With strong support from the Wuxi Municipal Government and the High-Tech Zone Government, the Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Park, announced in September 2019, officially commenced operations in April this year. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the Innovation Park has maintained uninterrupted domestic and international exchanges, actively introducing innovative forces and empowering enterprise development through multi-dimensional initiatives.

At this year’s China International Import Expo (CIIE), the Wuxi Municipal Government, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, Tigermed, and CICC, jointly announced the “Wuxi International Health Investment and Innovation Summit” initiative, aimed at accelerating the enhancement of Wuxi’s global influence in the biopharmaceutical industry. Sweden’s BioVentureHub also established a Sino-Swedish strategic partnership for medical innovation with the Innovation Park. Mr. Ibrahim Baylan, Sweden’s Minister for Enterprise, Industry and Innovation, delivered an online address, expressing his expectations and support for building an international cooperative ecosystem. The “Wuxi Biopharmaceutical Industry Association” and the “China-Europe Alumni Healthcare Industry Association” signed agreements to establish their presence in the park, jointly promoting integrated industrial development. The Wuxi Municipal Healthcare Security Administration and Wuxi High-Tech Zone signed a strategic framework agreement, planning to set up the “Wuxi Pharmaceutical Procurement and Bidding Center New District Workstation” within the Innovation Park to secure greater policy support and resource guarantees for the incubation of innovative drugs, medical devices, and healthcare solutions. The “CCHRPP Wuxi Pharmaceutical Research and Certification Center” was simultaneously unveiled, providing further support for improving the park’s medical innovation ecosystem from scientific research to commercialization. The “I·Campus Foreign Affairs Service Station” was officially launched, creating a “green channel” for talent acquisition and foreign affairs services within the park, thereby facilitating the construction of an international community, enhancing its level of internationalization, and further attracting overseas innovation projects. The “Wuxi European Life Science Innovation Industrial Park” was also unveiled on the same day, further expanding international cooperation and gathering global innovative forces. Based on AstraZeneca’s future clinic iClinic innovation project, QiFu and ShenZhi, enterprises within the Wuxi and Hangzhou Innovation Parks, respectively, signed agreements at the CIIE to launch innovative collaborations, aiming to conduct disease screening for one million person-visits at the primary care level over the coming year.

Through this edition of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), the Innovation Park has continued to introduce innovative forces from both domestic and international markets. These include UST, a US-based high-tech biotechnology company specializing in gene sequencing platform development; Besta, a leading domestic clinical development organization for innovative drugs; LinkDoc Technology, a unicorn enterprise in the fields of medical big data and artificial intelligence in China; Bio-Architectures, a CRO company offering integrated services ranging from genes to proteins to cryo-electron microscopy structures; Liangzhun Industrial, which specializes in "chip-based bio-microtesting technology" and holds nearly 100 world-leading technical patents; Hainan Yili, focused on the internet healthcare sector; Jingchen Technology, dedicated to creating smart healthcare-related products and solutions; Xinyun Hengan, a provider of holistic solutions based on intelligent devices in the cardiovascular field; Zhidao Medical Management, China’s first enterprise specializing in doctor-patient experience data platforms; Jinse Medical, a high-tech medical enterprise deeply engaged in comprehensive solutions for tumor surgery; Yishi Technology, possessing R&D capabilities in "intelligent recommendation systems" to efficiently and compliantly meet physicians' needs; and Zhenfu, a professional management platform for patient management and device sales at the primary care level. The newly settled enterprises cover multiple sectors, including new drug R&D, gene sequencing, smart wearables, medical big data, and internet hospitals, continuously expanding the boundaries of innovative development within the park.

Over the past year since its opening, multiple companies have achieved significant milestones: Qiyi Medical joined the park at the beginning of the year and became a partner in AstraZeneca’s “End-to-End Management of Chronic Respiratory Airway Diseases” project, facilitating the widespread deployment of all-in-one respiratory risk screening devices in over 470 hospitals and securing investment from a top-tier US-dollar fund. Guanhe Pharmaceutical, which settled in the park this April, saw the opening of the “Wuxi Guanhe Medical Laboratory” within just two months, successfully obtained medical laboratory qualifications in early August, and reached an agreement with AstraZeneca for the joint development and commercialization of companion diagnostics. The Innovation Park has also encouraged enterprises within the park to explore deeper collaborations with more cross-industry partners; for instance, Shanmi, a tumor genetic testing company, partnered with Tencent in July to jointly develop the MiGuang Online Tumor MDT Platform. At the AstraZeneca booth during the China International Import Expo (CIIE), numerous companies—including Guanhe, Jinse, LinkDoc, Liangzhun, Omron, Qiyi, Shanmi, UST, Xin’an Medical, and Xincheng Magnesium—showcased their latest innovative outcomes incubated in forward-looking fields.

Commenting on the debut of the Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Park at this year’s China International Import Expo (CIIE), Wang Lei, Global Executive Vice President of AstraZeneca and President of International Business and China, stated, “The CIIE provides an excellent window for promoting two-way communication and cooperation in innovation between domestic and overseas entities. In its first year of operation, the Innovation Park has attracted more than 30 outstanding enterprises from home and abroad, along with seven international strategic partners. This achievement is inseparable from the significant efficacy brought by the ‘government-enterprise collaboration’ model, as well as the joint support of multiple stakeholders. AstraZeneca will remain committed to its mission, continuing to contribute our advantageous resources and industry expertise. We look forward to working with more partners to build an open, collaborative, and win-win global healthcare innovation ecosystem. While achieving our own development, we aim to help enhance China’s medical innovation capabilities, thereby benefiting patients in China and around the world.”

AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/NYSE: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company focused on the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of prescription medicines, with a primary focus on three major therapeutic areas: oncology; cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism; and respiratory and immunology. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca operates in more than 100 countries, and its innovative medicines benefit millions of patients worldwide. For more information, please visitwww.astrazeneca.com。

Since entering China in 1993, AstraZeneca has adhered to a science-led approach and prioritized innovation to meet the growing health needs of the Chinese population, striving to realize its grand vision of “pioneering innovation, benefiting patients, and becoming China’s most trusted healthcare partner.” Headquartered in Shanghai, AstraZeneca has established regional headquarters in Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, and Chengdu, and employs more than 20,000 people across China. The company has invested in manufacturing bases in Wuxi and Taizhou, Jiangsu Province, and established its China logistics center in Wuxi. In China, AstraZeneca focuses primarily on therapeutic areas with the most urgent patient needs, including respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, oncology, gastrointestinal, and renal diseases. In 2017, the China Health IoT Innovation Center was launched in Wuxi to explore innovative integrated solutions for whole-disease management leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare. In the same year, AstraZeneca formed a joint venture with SDIC Innovation to establish Dizal (Jiangsu) Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., accelerating the pace of local new drug research and development. In 2019, AstraZeneca announced a collaboration with Wuxi to co-establish the Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Park, pooling global expertise to benefit patients in China. Also in 2019, AstraZeneca announced the establishment of its Global R&D China Center in Shanghai and jointly founded a global healthcare industry fund with CICC Capital.