Over RMB 28.5 Billion Invested: Changde, Changping, and Nanjing Accelerate Biomanufacturing Layouts

As biomanufacturing ushers in the era of the third biotechnology revolution, regions such as Changde in Hunan Province, Changping District in Beijing, and Nanjing in Jiangsu Province are intensifying their strategic investments in the biomanufacturing industry.

Recently, the Standing Committee of the Hunan Provincial People's Congress approved the "Several Provisions of Changde City on Promoting the Development of the Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Industry" (hereinafter referred to as the "Provisions"),This is China's first local regulation to promote the development of the synthetic biology manufacturing industry.

“The Regulations” not only provide tangible financial support for enterprise development—such as commendations for outstanding contributions, rewards for investment attraction, and support for platform construction—but also offer full-lifecycle services, with regulatory safeguards in place at every step and stage from research and development to market launch.

It is reported that Changde City has35domestic synthetic biology manufacturing enterprises (Xinhexin, Lier Biotech, Yinhang Biotech, Hongjian Biotech, Moon Biotech, etc.),2024Annual output value reaches125100 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of25.9%。

In addition to Changde, recent reports indicate that Beijing’s Changping District is working to establish itself as a leading hub for synthetic biology manufacturing.

2024In 2025, the revenue of Changping's synthetic biology manufacturing industry exceeded60100 Million Yuan, Fixed Asset Investment Projects17, investment exceeding43hundred million, a cluster has initially taken shape, becoming a hallmark of Beijing’s synthetic biology manufacturing industry.

Nanjing is also proactively laying out the synthetic biology industry chain, with the goal of2025The citywide scale of the synthetic biology industry, including the gene and cell therapy sector, shall reach100hundred million yuan.

From this perspective,2025The output value of bio-manufacturing in just three regions—Changde, Hunan; Changping, Beijing; and Nanjing, Jiangsu—has already exceeded285100 million yuan.

According to VCBeat’s analysis, the biomanufacturing industry layouts in the aforementioned three regions each have their own distinct characteristics.

Changde exhibits distinct characteristics in its specialized sub-sectors., where:

• In the field of enzyme preparations, Hongying Biology has become China's largest exporter of glucoamylase and other enzyme preparation products;

• In the biopharmaceutical sector, Xinhexin Bio’s corticosteroid products account for nearly global70%Market share, betamethasone domestic market consecutive3Ranked first for the year;

• In the field of animal health and plant protection, Lier Bio “L-"Large-scale biosynthesis technology for glufosinate" is a first-of-its-kind innovation in China;

• Additionally, MuEn Bio is an internationally leading platform for microbiome discovery and industrialization, having established ultra-27A strain resource bank of 10,000 functional strains has become the “chip” of the biomanufacturing industry;

• Yinhang Bio’s enzyme catalysis technology is globally leading.

• In fact, Changde City has long accumulated experience in the biomanufacturing industry.

Taking Jinshi City, Changde City as an example, the city in the last century70By that era, a relatively comprehensive range of light-industry sectors had taken shape. Products such as Zebra mosquito coils, Wheat Ear monosodium glutamate (MSG), and glucoamylase once enjoyed nationwide renown. Jinshi Enzyme Preparation Factory was the earliest enterprise in Hunan Province to venture into the biomanufacturing industry, and its “Plum Blossom” brand glucoamylase was awarded the title of China Well-Known Trademark. Through50After years of accumulation and development, the synthetic biology manufacturing industry has become increasingly clustered.

In contrast, Nanjing is more inclined to proactively lay out the upstream branches of synthetic biology—the gene and cell therapy industries., this constitutes the “foundational technology + core platform” of the synthetic biology industry, akin to what “chip foundries” are to the smartphone industry, determining what synthetic biology can produce, how rapidly it can be manufactured, and at what cost.

Currently, Nanjing has established an industrial system characterized by competitive advantages in genetic testing, gene editing, gene synthesis, diagnostic reagents, and precision cell therapy. A preliminary cluster development pattern has taken shape across three districts—Jiangbei New Area, Jiangning District, and Qixia District—home to GenScript, the world’s largest gene synthesis provider.Geneseeq, Reindeer Bio, and other top 20 enterprises in the gene and cell therapy industry.

Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Bio-Medicine Valley Aggregates Biopharmaceutical Enterprises1300Yu Family is building a "Gene and Cell City" with global influence.

It is understood that Jiangsu is one of the earliest provinces in China to strategically develop the synthetic biology sector. Jiangnan University and Nanjing Agricultural University have exerted significant influence both domestically and internationally in the fields of plant-based proteins and cultured meat. Notably, Jiangnan University’s industrial strain and enzyme engineering capabilities are globally leading. The province’s synthetic biology industry is primarily concentrated in Nanjing, Suzhou, and Changzhou.

Changping has gathered resources around niche sectors such as bio-based new materials, collagen, biological breeding, and gas fermentation.120Over 10 synthetic biology manufacturing enterprises,2024The annual revenue of the synthetic biology manufacturing industry in the entire region exceeded60100 million yuan.

Changping District has also established a special task force for the synthetic biology industry to foster existing enterprises and attract investment.2025Newly Introduced Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Enterprises15Home.

Weiyuan Synthesis and Qihe BioSciences are key representative enterprises in Changping’s biomanufacturing sector.

This Year7In May, Weiyuan Synthesis’s allulose officially received administrative licensing for inclusion in the National Health Commission’s announcement on new food raw materials. Weiyuan Synthesis has become the first allulose manufacturer in China to gain approval for market launch, and remains the only enterprise approved via a bio-fermentation process.

Qihe Biotech is located upstairs from MicroElement Synthesis. Qihe Biotech has developed core gene-editing technologies with independent global intellectual property rights. Its research and development of high-oleic soybeans can increase the oleic acid content in soybeans from less than20%Increase to80%, significantly improving the health properties of vegetable oils.

According to reports, Qihe Bio’s independently developed gene-editing technology has achieved trait improvement in crops such as soybeans and wheat, including powdery mildew-resistant wheat.5The product has obtained a safety certificate issued by the state. Such a safety certificate is one of only a few in China.10Zhang, Qihe BioTech accounts for "half the market."

Funding support, pilot-scale platform development, and regulatory approval represent major challenges for many biomanufacturing enterprises and are also the key focus areas of the aforementioned three regions.

In terms of financial support:

Changde City has introduced policies focusing on R&D innovation, achievement transformation, enterprise capacity expansion, and project attraction, allocating special funds to support these initiatives and promoting the establishment of a total scale50a mother fund for the development of the bio-manufacturing industry, with a scale of 100 million yuan.

Changping District, Beijing to Fully Leverage the Guiding Role of Its Science and Technology Industry Fund-of-Funds — Changping Fund-of-Funds Invests in Local Medical Enterprises130Yu Family, investment exceeding37billion yuan, with a total scale of two funds targeting the synthetic biology manufacturing industry6Registration and establishment of a billion-yuan sci-tech innovation fund.

Nanjing has established a mother fund for the biopharmaceutical industry.20hundred million yuan, with specific investment areas including biotechnology, gene and cell therapy, pharmaceuticals, medical care, and health services.

In terms of pilot-scale platform development:

Changde has established the Hongjian Bio Provincial Pilot Base for the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements in R&D of Bioengineered Bacterial Strain Raw Materials; investment5000The Jinshi Bio-manufacturing Pilot Scale-up Base, established with an investment of RMB 100 million, has been approved as one of the province’s first batch of pilot scale-up bases for scientific and technological achievement transformation; Changde Economic and Technological Development Zone has partnered with Central South University, investing5000Invest 10,000 yuan to build a pilot-scale platform for synthetic biology manufacturing.

The Beijing Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Technology Innovation Center, jointly established by Changping District and Beijing University of Chemical Technology, has been put into operation. It is planned to feature four major support platforms: pilot-scale biological fermentation, pilot-scale bioreaction, pilot-scale biological separation and conversion, and analytical testing.

Nanjing has issued the “Notice on Doing a Good Job in the Declaration of Pilot-Scale Capacity Building Platforms for Biomanufacturing,” encouraging the development of biomanufacturing pilot-scale platforms, and Nanjing already has5The platform was shortlisted for the first batch of key pilot-scale test platforms under cultivation, as announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

In terms of registration and approval:

The Regulations released this time in Changde clearly state that it is necessary to strengthen preliminary research on biosafety evaluation and risk assessment, and establish consultation and communication channels between enterprises and regulatory and review agencies such as the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment.

Establish a coordinated declaration mechanism to provide efficient services for the market access of synthetic biology manufacturing products in Changde City. Set up a green channel to implement expedited review and approval for drugs, cosmetics, health supplements, and medical devices.

Changping District facilitated the approval of China’s “first-ever” new food raw material, allulose, by establishing a three-tier coordination mechanism involving district, municipal, and national authorities. This initiative opened a green channel for expedited review, achieving innovations in approval models, institutional frameworks, and policy breakthroughs.

It is understood that due to restrictions imposed by relevant laws and regulations in the field of novel foods, frontier technologies such as synthetic biology face challenges including the absence of an approval pathway for the production and application of novel food ingredients. When Wei Yuan Synthetic Biology submitted its application for allulose produced via synthetic biological methods, the company encountered multi-stage, multi-departmental regulatory hurdles, including safety assessments of the microbial strains, systematic toxicological safety evaluations, and studies on human consumption safety.

To expedite corporate approval processes, the Administrative Committee of Future Science City in Changping District worked closely with the Municipal Health Commission to actively coordinate with the National Health Commission and the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, jointly advancing the approval of allulose as a new food raw material.

Meanwhile, the Municipal Health Commission has established a municipal-level task force to organize municipal medical and health institutions to accelerate toxicological studies and human consumption safety trials for allulose, a novel food ingredient produced via microbial synthesis, thereby advancing the original plan15-month allulose toxicology study task, advanced to7completed within one and a half months, resulting in a complete set of toxicological safety evaluation technical reports, thereby laying the foundation for the application of new food raw materials.