Beiao Building: A State-Owned Biomedical Innovation Hub Pioneering the Integration of BT, IT, and AI

Amid the booming development of the global life and health industry, industrial parks have become a key force in facilitating the establishment of high-quality enterprises, attracting professional talent, and enhancing industrial competitiveness, thanks to their unique advantages as important carriers and foundations for the growth of this sector. In particular, biopharmaceutical industrial parks, serving as core areas that enhance spatial capacity for industrial development, have now become crucial supports for accelerating the local commercialization of innovative achievements.

In recent years, with the continuous increase in national policy and financial support, as well as the growing market demand, domestic biomedical industrial parks have ushered in unprecedented development opportunities and are becoming a key engine driving the high-quality development of the life and health industry.

Amidst the innovative and vibrant landscape of Hangzhou, the Beiao Building of the Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park, located at No. 768 Jianta Street, Puyan Subdistrict, Hangzhou High-Tech Zone (Binjiang), emerged in response to this wave of development.

Beiao Building was invested in and constructed by Hangzhou High-Tech Jintou Holding Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “High-Tech Jintou Group”) and is professionally operated by Hangzhou Jintou Shidai Enterprise Management Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Jintou Shidai”). As a state-owned specialized platform for the biopharmaceutical industry, Beiao Building focuses on smart healthcare and features a “1+2” industrial framework centered on high-end medical devices and innovative drug R&D, striving to build an innovation hub for the digital biotechnology sector integrating “BT+IT+AI.”

Panoramic View of Beiao Building | Image Source: Beiao Building

Currently, Bei’ao Building is establishing an integrated operational service system featuring a tripartite model of “government + state-owned capital platform + operational team,” capable of providing comprehensive and professional industrial operation services spanning technology, scientific innovation, talent, industry, and finance. To this end, since officially launching investment promotion efforts in the second quarter of 2024, within less than half a year,The park has attracted nearly 20 key biomedical institutions and enterprises, including the Transcatheter Implantable Device Research Institute of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine led by Academician Wang Jian’an, the Zhejiang Pharmaceutical Supervision and Industry Development Research Association, Hangzhou Tailong Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership), China Resources Medical Devices (Zhejiang) Co., Ltd., Hangzhou DynaYuanSheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Prometheus Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and Bimeide (Zhejiang) Life Sciences Research Institute Co., Ltd.

Biomedicine is a key branch of the pharmaceutical industry, characterized by its knowledge-intensive nature, high technological content, and broad interdisciplinary scope. It occupies a crucial position in China’s economic development, serving as one of the country’s strategic emerging industries and one of the five pillar industries each valued at 10 trillion yuan. It is also one of the strategic emerging industries that Hangzhou prioritizes for cultivation and development.

After years of development, Hangzhou’s biopharmaceutical industry has basically formed an industrial spatial planning layout characterized by a “One Core, Four Parks” structure, with Qiantang District as the core and coordinated development in the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang), Xiaoshan District, Yuhang District, and Linping District. Official data shows that Hangzhou currently has more than 1,600 biopharmaceutical-related enterprises.¹。

Among them, the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang), as a vital component of Hangzhou’s biopharmaceutical industry, has seen this sector develop into the district’s second largest pillar industry, surpassed only by the internet industry. Furthermore, the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang) aims to build the life and health industry into the next trillion-yuan-level industry cluster, establishing itself as an internationally competitive hub for life and health science and technology innovation.

Given the role of agglomeration effects in enhancing the competitiveness of the life and health industry, the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang) has established the Zero-Magnetic Science Valley (Smart New World) along the Qiantang River as its primary hub for the clustered development of the life and health industry. This initiative serves as a key vehicle for Binjiang to rebuild a trillion-yuan industrial cluster. Located in the core area of the Zero-Magnetic Science Valley (Smart New World), Bei’ao Building aligns with the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang)’s industrial strategy of prioritizing three key sectors: smart health, high-end medical devices, and innovative drugs. It is committed to becoming a leading hub for biomedical industry agglomeration and industrial transformation.

It is worth noting that,Beiao Building is a state-owned professional platform for the biomedical industry, prioritized by the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang), invested in and constructed by Gaoxin Jintou Group, and exclusively operated and managed by Jintou Shidai. It leverages the combined strengths of three key stakeholders: the district government, state-owned asset platforms, and market-oriented operation teams.

In addition to the high-level attention and top-down design provided by the district government, the Zero-Magnetic Science Valley (Smart New World) Development Service Center, as a regional service and management agency, has actively provided various services to support enterprise establishment and development, focusing on education, healthcare, housing, and commerce. Furthermore, the Zero-Magnetic Valley (New World) Center has proactively served as a communication bridge, facilitating connections between biopharmaceutical companies and Beiao Building.

The state-owned capital platform is Gaoxin Jintou Group.Established in December 2015 with the approval of the Administrative Committee of Hangzhou High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Gaoxin Jintou Group is a district-administered state-owned enterprise specializing in “government fund operations, government financing guarantees, equity investment management, mass entrepreneurship and innovation carrier operations, and sci-tech industry services.”As of the first half of 2024, Gaoxin Jintou Group had cumulatively invested in 44 cooperative funds, with 29 subsidiary funds currently in operation, representing a total scale of RMB 30.22 billion. To further promote the coordinated industrial development of the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang) and drive the agglomeration of the biopharmaceutical industry cluster, the investment construction and professional investment fund services provided by Gaoxin Jintou Group have offered solid support for the development of Beiao Building.

The market operations team is Jintou Shidai. Jintou Shidai was established as a joint venture by Gaoxin Jintou Group and Hangzhou Shidai High-Tech Industrial Park Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shidai Gaoke”), fully integrating the advantageous resources of both Gaoxin Jintou Group and Shidai Gaoke.

Among them,Shidai Gaoke is a leading operator and service provider of integrated biomedical innovation hubs in China. Its core team has extensive experience in successfully developing multiple national-level biomedical industrial parks and in biomedical venture capital, with proven capabilities in leveraging policy resources and nurturing and empowering enterprises.Since 2012, the team has successfully operated, planned, and designed nearly 10 biopharmaceutical industrial parks, with a total operational area of 600,000 square meters and a total planned and designed area of nearly 3 million square meters. Its operational models and achievements have been featured and promoted by mainstream media on multiple occasions.

Under the professional management of Jintou Era, Bei’ao Building will leverage the flexibility of market-oriented mechanisms to organically integrate government planning, state-owned construction, and market operations, achieving a synergistic effect where “1+1+1>3,” and ultimately developing into an industry benchmark for biomedicine in the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang).

Wang Xiangjun, General Manager of Jintou Shidai, also stated: ““Bei’ao Building aims to become a cluster and showcase for innovative biopharmaceutical enterprises in Hangzhou High-Tech Zone (Binjiang), driving the development of the biopharmaceutical industry and the commercialization of research achievements in Hangzhou and across China.”

Currently, there are numerous industrial parks related to the biopharmaceutical industry in China. According to the Qianzhan Industrial Park Database, as of May 20, 2024, there were a total of 176 biomedical industrial parks in China. For Beiao Building, although it is currently in its initial stage,However, it has accumulated multiple advantages in terms of policy, location, platform, and supporting facilities, combining professionalism with differentiation. These strengths will be key factors for Bei’ao Building to establish an innovation hub for the digital biotechnology “BT+IT+AI” industry and drive the development of the biomedical sector.

I. Policy Support.The High-Tech Zone (Binjiang) Government has actively provided guidance, coordinated industrial layout planning, and introduced multiple key policies to vigorously support the development of the biopharmaceutical industry. For instance, it successively issued Document No. 17 [2023] of the District Office on Policies for Promoting Innovative Development in the Life and Health Industry, and Document No. 1 [2023] of Hangzhou High-Tech Zone on the “5050 Plan,” providing targeted policy support for the innovation and entrepreneurship of high-level talents and teams.

II. Location Advantages.Beiao Tower is located beside the bridgehead where Zhijiang Bridge enters Binjiang District, adjacent to the Caihong Expressway. It offers convenient transportation access, reaching Hangzhou East Railway Station and Xiaoshan International Airport within 30 minutes, and is only 700 meters from Xipu Road Station on Metro Line 6. This well-connected transport network facilitates industrial development. Situated in the core area of the Life and Health Industry Cluster within the Zero-Magnetic Science Valley (Smart New World) of the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang), Beiao Tower is the first state-owned specialized industrial park in the Binjiang Digital Health Town, a provincial-level characteristic town in Zhejiang. Adjacent to the Zero-Magnetic Medical Translation Park, it enjoys superior geographical advantages. Furthermore, Beiao Tower boasts an excellent location, offering distant views of the scenic West Lake and backed by the majestic Qiantang River, creating a unique blend of natural landscape and cultural ambiance.

III. Advantages of the Operation Platform.Beiao Building has established an integrated operational service system featuring a tripartite model of “district government + state-owned capital platform + operations team,” delivering comprehensive and professional industrial operation services spanning technological innovation, talent development, industry support, and financial services. Specifically, the district government coordinates overall planning and layout; the state-owned capital platform, Gaoxin Jintou Group, undertakes overall investment and construction to empower the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and foster the development of high-tech industries; and the operations team, Jintou Times, leverages the flexibility of market-oriented mechanisms to organically integrate government planning, state-owned construction, and market-driven operations. This approach not only ensures the superiority of Beiao Building’s hardware facilities and policy environment but also provides tenant enterprises with all-around, specialized industrial operation services through the agile operations of a professional, market-oriented team.

IV. Comprehensive Supporting Service FacilitiesFirst, Beiao Building offers expansive industrial space with comprehensive specialized and public facilities. The building has a total area of 89,900 square meters, with a above-ground floor area of 57,700 square meters. The park’s buildings are divided into two towers, A and B. Tower A comprises 15 floors and is equipped with specialized facilities such as an industrial wastewater treatment pool, dedicated exhaust gas shafts, and a hazardous chemicals warehouse. With ceiling heights ranging from 3.8 to 7.4 meters and load-bearing capacities between 400 and 1,600 kg/m², it meets the specialized infrastructure requirements of biopharmaceutical enterprises. Tower B consists of 19 floors and primarily provides professional incubation services for digital biotechnology along with headquarters office spaces.

In terms of public supporting facilities, the park is equipped with multiple shared conference venues and canteens, as well as other amenities for leisure, entertainment, and business negotiations.

Beiao Building Industrial Space Layout Diagram. Source: Beiao Building

Importantly, thanks to its prime location, Bei'ao Building is surrounded by a diverse industrial ecosystem, providing convenient conditions for resident institutions and enterprises.

“Beiao Select” Collaborative Project Database. Image source: Materials provided by Beiao Building; graphic by VCBeat.

In addition, leveraging the specific characteristics of the biomedical industrial park and tenant needs, as well as Jintou Shidai’s years of accumulated industrial ecosystem resources, Bei’ao Tower has screened and curated a group of qualified third-party partner institutions—including the BIA Federation, SGS (SGS-CSTC Standards Technical Services), Shanghai Rongzheng, Tigermed Jietong, Tianchi Juntai Law Firm, and Ruilai Purification—to establish the “Bei’ao Select” cooperative project database. This initiative aims to provide tenant enterprises with comprehensive whole-industry-chain services spanning scientific and technological innovation, talent development, and biomedicine.

Beiao Building’s Full-Industry-Chain Services | Image Source: Beiao Building

The “Beiao Select” cooperative project database will continue to be updated and iterated in the future, ultimately forming a closed-loop industrial service ecosystem. Partner institutions and enterprises will be able to access one-stop solutions within the park.

In the process of developing smart healthcare as the core, fostering the “1+2” industrial framework centered on high-end medical devices and innovative drug R&D, and striving to build a highland for innovation in the digital biotechnology sector integrating “BT+IT+AI,”Bei’ao Building has established an incubation model featuring the synergistic innovation and integration of “scientists + entrepreneurs + investors.”By fully leveraging scientists’ leadership in technological innovation, entrepreneurs’ market orientation and commercialization capabilities, and investors’ financial support and resource integration, the park enables a seamless connection from source innovation to industrial commercialization.

In this regard,Wang Xiangjun, General Manager of Jintou Shidai, stated: “Beiao Building is not merely focused on conventional leasing and occupancy; rather, it is investment-driven, aiming to facilitate the integrated development of technology, finance, and industry, thereby truly accelerating the commercialization of high-quality biomedical projects.”

To this end, Bei’ao Building has engaged ten industry advisors, including world-renowned medical expert Dr. Eckhard U Alt, internationally renowned investor Dr. Ray James Zimmerman, and Ji Jian, Executive Vice President of the Institute for Transvascular Implantable Devices at The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Leveraging top-tier international perspectives and exceptional professional expertise, these advisors help resident enterprises address various critical challenges encountered during their development.

Meanwhile, Bei’ao Building has become the biomedical exchange center for the Jiangnan Science City sector of the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang). Since its opening, it has successfully hosted 35 events in various formats, including project roadshows, industry chain matchmaking sessions, and startup competitions. Nearly 1,000 representatives from institutions and enterprises have participated and engaged in partnership discussions.

It is reported that Beiao Building will further improve and enrich the professional infrastructure of the industrial park in the near future, centrally introducing a batch of innovation and entrepreneurship service agencies integrating CROs, CDMOs, and public service platforms. Additionally, it plans to establish a special investment fund for the industrial park to support the development of key projects stationed there.

Building on this foundation, Bei’ao Tower will continue to adhere to an industrial investment perspective in screening high-quality enterprises, precisely identifying projects with high potential, and actively introducing leading companies to create a clustering effect. This approach aims to achieve the “Three Ones” goal of “introducing a cohort of leading biopharmaceutical enterprises, strengthening a group of key competitive enterprises, and incubating a batch of innovative enterprises,” while also fulfilling the objective of “successfully attracting, effectively developing, and reliably retaining” talent and businesses.

In this regard,Wang Xiangjun, General Manager of Jintou Times, stated, “Jintou Times strives to serve as a key platform and instrumental vehicle for the government in developing the biopharmaceutical industry. In the future, we will transform Bei’ao Building into the ‘Smart Eye’ of the biopharmaceutical sector in the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang).”“On the basis of facilitating high-quality biomedical projects through the ‘1-10’ R&D phase, Jintou Shidai can further support their industrialization from ‘10-100’ within the district, effectively translating scientific achievements into tangible outcomes and ultimately fostering innovative development in the biopharmaceutical industry of the High-Tech Zone (Binjiang).”

References:

1. Hangzhou Net: Government, Universities, Research Institutes, and Enterprises Collaborate to Promote High-Quality Development of the Biopharmaceutical Industry