Chongqing Hosts Its First Medical Science and Technology Innovation Achievements Transformation Competition

On October 28, 2024, the launch ceremony of the Chongqing Medical Science and Technology Innovation Achievement Transformation Competition and the opening ceremony of the Innovation Achievement Training Camp were successfully held in Chongqing High-Tech Zone. Since its official launch in September, the competition has attracted widespread attention from all sectors of society. Relevant institutions, organizations, and individual participants have enthusiastically registered. In addition to entries from the Chengdu-Chongqing region, submissions were also received from cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

Since the commencement of the competition, a total of 376 project entries have been registered and passed the formal review. Following an initial screening by staff to assess the completeness and rationality of the submission materials, 248 projects advanced to the expert evaluation stage. These included 48 pharmaceutical achievements, 140 medical device achievements, and 60 medical technology achievements. Among the participating entries, 126 were submitted by research teams and individuals, 61 by enterprises, 56 by hospitals, and 5 by universities and research institutes. After rigorous evaluation in the preliminary round, 84 outstanding projects were selected to advance to the semi-finals and were uniformly enrolled in this Innovation Achievement Training Camp. The shortlisted projects comprised 16 in the pharmaceutical category, 50 in the medical device category, and 18 in the medical technology category.

Teams shortlisted in the preliminary round will be uniformly enrolled in the Innovation Achievement Training Camp, where they will be led in groups throughout the program by technical managers. Experts from relevant fields will be invited to deliver lectures, comprehensively enhancing the participants’ ability to translate technological innovations into practical outcomes. The semi-finals and finals will be held in mid-to-late November through on-site roadshows combined with judges’ comments, ultimately selecting several winners for the first, second, and third prizes.

The Innovation Achievement Training Camp is hosted by the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, the Chongqing Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, the Chongqing Municipal Economy and Information Technology Commission, the Chongqing Municipal Medical Products Administration, the Chongqing Municipal Intellectual Property Office, and the Administrative Committee of Chongqing High-Tech Zone in Western Science City. It is organized by the National Vocational Skill Appraisal Institute of the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission and the Science and Technology Innovation Bureau of Chongqing High-Tech Zone, with co-organization from Chongqing Yucheng Development Co., Ltd., the Mingyue Lake International Intelligent Industry Sci-Tech Innovation Base, and the World University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base. Centered on the theme of “Innovation, Development, Transcendence, and Leadership,” the camp is committed to building a full-process health technology transfer service system covering achievement aggregation, screening, incubation, validation, commercialization, and application, thereby promoting the industrial transformation of medical sci-tech innovation achievements.

At 10:00 a.m. sharp, the launch ceremony of the competition and the opening ceremony of the Innovation Achievements Training Camp were held at the Chongqing Shancheng International Conference Center. The opening ceremony was presided over by Wang Shichun, Second-level Inspector of the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission. More than 260 attendees gathered at the event to jointly witness the kickoff of the competition, including leaders from the Municipal Health Commission, the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, the Municipal Economy and Information Technology Commission, the Municipal Medical Products Administration, the Municipal Intellectual Property Office, the Chongqing High-tech Zone of Western Science City, and health commissions of various districts and counties; personnel involved in scientific research translation; representatives from hospitals, universities, research institutes, and enterprises; training experts and mentors; technology managers (brokers); and media reporters.

Zhang Hongping, a Second-Level Inspector with the Administrative Committee of Chongqing High-Tech Zone in Western (Chongqing) Science City, pointed out in his address that the biopharmaceutical industry is one of the key characteristic and advantageous industries prioritized for development in Western (Chongqing) Science City. Jin Feng Laboratory has established 40 research teams and achieved numerous significant research outcomes. Multiple scientific research and development platforms, including the National Institute for In Vitro Diagnostics of Chongqing Medical University, the Chongqing Center of China Natural Population Resources Bank, and the Large-Scale Scientific Center for Germplasm Creation, have been established and are now operational. These efforts have successfully attracted the clustering of seven national key laboratories and 300 municipal-level or higher R&D platforms. Enterprises such as HitGen, Sino Biological, MedChemExpress, Demei Medical, Double Medical, Fanghe Biotechnology, and ZhiEn Biotechnology have been introduced.Finally, Inspector Zhang announced a series of supportive policies, inviting outstanding projects from the competition and various innovative resource platforms to settle in and take root in Science City, jointly building a highland for life sciences and health innovation. The soon-to-be-completed Shiban and Ping An Big Health Industrial Parks, along with the Chongqing National Bio-industry Base—which boasts a mature operational model—welcome biopharmaceutical teams and enterprises to establish their presence.

Xing Yaxi, Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Health Commission, stated that this Medical Science and Technology Innovation Achievement Transformation Competition, as a key component of the “Promoting Transformation Action,” focuses on the translation of medical sci-tech innovations into practical applications. By establishing expert, achievement, and funding databases for the transformation of medical sci-tech achievements, the initiative aims to further optimize Chongqing’s ecosystem for medical sci-tech innovation and promote deep integration and collaborative innovation among medicine, research, industry, and academia.

The Municipal Health Commission has thoroughly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government regarding the construction of the “416” strategic layout for scientific and technological innovation and the “33618” modern manufacturing cluster system. Closely aligning with the “14th Five-Year Plan” Special Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation in Health, the Implementation Opinions on Deepening Scientific and Technological Innovation in Health, and the “159” overall development framework for the high-quality development of health services, the Commission has actively explored a collaborative innovation model involving “medical institutions, research institutes, and enterprises,” and established a key-problem-solving mechanism based on “projects + teams + platforms.” The competition has undertaken bold innovations,Closely integrate activities with services, ensure that innovation and industry complement each other, facilitate matchmaking through competitions, and accelerate the commercialization of innovations through incubation.Guided by policy and linked by competitions, we have established a health technology transfer service system that covers the entire process of achievement collection, screening, incubation, validation, commercialization, and application, comprehensively showcasing and promoting the translation and application of medical science and technology innovation achievements.

At the event, the Municipal Health Commission also released a Report on Needs for Achievement Transformation. By analyzing five major sections—declaring entities, categories of achievements, transformation needs, and application of transformed achievements—the report provided a phased summary of previous work on the transformation of innovative achievements. It served as an important basis for building a supply-and-demand platform for the Innovation Achievement Training Camp of the competition and facilitating the precise implementation of these achievements.

Following the ceremony, the Innovation Achievement Training Camp—a key segment of the competition—held its first expert training session. It is reported that this phase will run from October 28 to mid-November. Through organizing training sessions with clinical, industry, and investment experts, sharing practical experiences in technology transfer, providing end-to-end support services by technology managers, and conducting medical science and innovation research tours, the program aims to comprehensively enhance participants’ capabilities in translating scientific and technological innovations into tangible outcomes. Additionally, it seeks to establish a supply-and-demand platform for learning, exchange, and collaboration among medical institutions, research organizations, and enterprises.

At the inaugural expert training session, the Competition Organizing Committee specially invited industry experts to deliver two practical courses titled “Models and Pathway Design for the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements” and “Case Sharing of the ‘One Base, Multiple Universities, One Platform’ Sci-Tech Innovation Ecosystem at Mingyue Lake.” These sessions provided an in-depth interpretation of the policy background, key milestones, and response strategies for the transformation of medical scientific and technological achievements, as well as shared practical experiences from multiple case studies of such transformations at the Mingyue Lake Sci-Tech Innovation Base, greatly benefiting the attending participants. Meanwhile, 16 technology managers from Chongqing’s medical industry successfully matched with corresponding projects, engaging in face-to-face, open discussions centered on services for achievement transformation.

According to relevant staff from the organizing committee, the training camp will continue to roll out subsequent training sessions, inviting senior experts from the clinical, industrial, and investment sectors to deliver lectures. All core project personnel will be organized to conduct on-site visits to key pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises and industrial parks, engage with advanced industry technological achievements, and facilitate partnerships with cooperating companies.

According to the competition schedule, following the conclusion of the training camp, subsequent stages including the semi-finals, finals, and awards ceremony will be held consecutively. The finals and awards ceremony are scheduled for late November, during which first, second, and third prizes will be awarded through project presentations and expert evaluation.

It is reported that, in addition to receiving cash awards, the winning projects will be selectively included in the support list of the “Promotion and Transformation Action” and granted funding support where they comply with relevant regulations. The principal investigators of the awarded achievements will be exempt from their institutions’ annual caps when applying for municipal-level medical research projects in the following year. Eligible achievements will be given priority recommendation for application to the Chongqing Innovative Medical Device Application Demonstration Project. Furthermore, eligible achievements will benefit from expert advisory teams providing incubation, validation, and promotion services; resource matchmaking and achievement promotion services to facilitate technology transfer; and various other policy supports, including free access to the World University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Base.