GCP ClinPlus Files IPO Prospectus: Pioneering Digital and Global Clinical CRO Services with Proprietary Data Integration Platform
GCP ClinPlus
Clinical Research Service Provider for Pharmaceutical Products
Amid the sustained heating up of new drug development globally and in China, the lengthy timelines, high costs, and substantial risks involved have led an increasing number of pharmaceutical companies to outsource various stages of the R&D process. The involvement of clinical CROs can efficiently help pharmaceutical companies shorten clinical development timelines, reduce costs, and enhance R&D efficiency, thereby securing a competitive advantage in the fiercely competitive market.
The development pace of China’s CRO market has surpassed the global average. Policy support for innovative drug R&D, a continuous rise in the number of clinical trial registrations, and the gradual maturation and international alignment of the clinical trial regulatory system are all conducive to the penetration and growth of clinical CROs. Meanwhile, lower clinical trial costs in China, abundant patient resources, and the effective utilization of both local and global clinical data can accelerate the clinical development process, achieving dual advantages in cost and efficiency. Opportunities for cross-border collaboration are also increasing.
Against this backdrop, Dr. Jiang Long, a forward-thinking investor and founder of a CRO company, took the helm at GCP ClinPlus in December 2023, bringing with him two decades of deep expertise in the clinical trial industry. In an exclusive interview with VCBeat, Dr. Jiang shared his strategic plans to drive the further development of GCP ClinPlus through digital transformation and international market expansion.
Dr. Jiang Long, Chairman and General Manager of GCP ClinPlus
Dr. Jiang Long holds a Master’s degree in Clinical Medicine from Harbin Medical University and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. He has been awarded the National Science and Technology Progress Award twice. During his tenure as a senior cardiac surgeon at Peking University People’s Hospital, he performed over 2,000 cardiac surgeries. Accurately anticipating the impending wave of innovation in China’s pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Jiang founded Bei Yi Ren Zhi in 2005, the country’s first academic-oriented contract research organization (CRO). Over ten years, it grew into a market leader in its niche and was successfully merged into Tigermed Group, an industry leader. As a core member of Tigermed’s management team, Dr. Jiang gained five additional years of high-level industry experience. In the past three years, serving as a Managing Partner specializing in healthcare for a major government-backed fund with social security foundations, he has had the opportunity to understand China’s biopharmaceutical industry from broader perspectives and multiple dimensions.
Reflecting on the experience gained from years in the medical industry, Dr. Jiang Long stated, “In essence, all this experience has helped me advance the realization of my vision from different dimensions and perspectives—addressing unresolved clinical challenges and benefiting more patients.” At GCP ClinPlus, this philosophy is translated into practice by “fully leveraging the power of data science to continuously elevate the standards of clinical research.”
Looking back to 2006 and 2007, GCP ClinPlus independently developed and launched China’s first clustered server platform (Citrix), Interactive Web Response System (IWRS), and automated statistical analysis and reporting platform. In the field of clinical research, data is the most fundamental output element, adhering to the principle that “if it is not recorded, it did not happen.” GCP ClinPlus covers the entire workflow from front-end data collection and aggregation to subsequent data management, statistical analysis, and report generation, ensuring continuous monitoring and management of data.
In short, GCP ClinPlus uses data as a medium to seamlessly integrate various teams involved in clinical research services. It conducts continuous assessments based on multiple data standards to ensure data consistency and reliability. Meanwhile, GCP ClinPlus connects its front-end project management system with its back-end data management system, integrating them into a proprietary platform. Leveraging this platform, the company meets diverse customer needs and generates various types of data reports. Dr. Jiang Long pointed out, “Traditionally, the continuous production of interim data reports has posed cost and technical challenges. However, with GCP ClinPlus’s proprietary platform, dynamic data monitoring is achieved, enabling the flexible generation of interim real-time reports on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis.”
This dynamic monitoring reporting approach not only reduces the risk of omissions during data recording, transfer, and report generation, but also sets higher standards for data integrity, adverse event documentation, and laboratory practice records, thereby meeting increasingly stringent regulatory review requirements.
GCP ClinPlus provides comprehensive clinical research services for pharmaceutical product development, covering Phase I to Phase IV clinical trials. Dr. Jiang Long stated, “After 20 years of dedicated expertise, GCP ClinPlus has delivered over 2,000 clinical research services to nearly 1,000 clients, accumulating extensive project experience. We continuously optimize service quality and efficiency through system iterations and tool innovation.”
Regarding its overseas market presence, he stated, “GCP ClinPlus has been providing offshore outsourcing services since 2012. It all began by chance, when we assembled an expatriate team to assist an overseas biotech company with its clinical studies. At that time, Chinese CROs expanding abroad were still a rarity. We gradually charted our course in cross-border clinical research services through persistent exploration and, after years of dedicated effort, became the sole designated China-based partner for U.S. domestic clients. To date, GCP ClinPlus has successfully completed more than 300 projects in collaboration with biotech companies across the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and other regions.” During the interview, Dr. Jiang Long also shared some of GCP ClinPlus’s insights on international expansion:
Building a Multilingual, Multicultural Transnational Team:
Offshore teams are characterized by low costs and high cost-effectiveness, but they also face challenges such as cultural differences and language barriers. GCP ClinPlus addresses these issues by deploying professional teams with multilingual communication skills and multicultural backgrounds to the front lines, ensuring smooth project execution. Currently, GCP ClinPlus is establishing an international talent training system and building a pipeline of pre-positioned talent reserves.
Stay Ahead of Global Frontier Technologies and Trends:
The key lies in building an international perspective in areas such as technology and systems. In competition with global CROs, it is essential to continuously learn and adopt new technologies. GCP ClinPlus conducts regular technical training for its domestic and international teams, and leverages data, experience, and intelligent technologies to drive the iterative improvement of its own data systems.
Prioritize Compliance and Quality Systems, Strengthen Data Security and Privacy Protection:
Due to the high level of attention paid to compliance on an international scale (particularly in Europe and the United States), CROs need to constantly monitor changes in regulations and industry standards across different countries. They must also implement effective controls and contingency plans for increasingly sensitive issues such as data security, privacy protection, and information restrictions.
Recruit Elite Talent from All Sectors to Build a Localized Team:
As the international landscape continues to evolve and awareness of data security strengthens, GCP ClinPlus will primarily adopt an overseas service model combining outsourcing with staff dispatch. In the future, GCP ClinPlus will pursue localized operations abroad by either recruiting new local teams or acquiring local companies, integrating local resources with its domestic team to create differentiated overseas solutions.
Talent is the core productivity and competitiveness of CRO companies, and Dr. Jiang Long places great emphasis on talent acquisition and development. Currently, GCP ClinPlus has over 400 employees worldwide, more than 78% of whom hold degrees in clinical medicine or pharmacy, and 36% of whom possess a master’s degree or higher. All core team members have over 20 years of experience in clinical new drug development. While building a specialized and internationalized team for new drug development, Dr. Jiang Long has also attracted and invited industry leaders to join GCP ClinPlus.
Dr. Wu Yan, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), is a renowned clinical research expert in the pharmaceutical industry, with over thirty years of experience in clinical development and regulatory affairs. He has served as the project leader for multiple large-scale international clinical trials, led and established R&D centers for multinational pharmaceutical companies in Asia, and participated in several major national new drug creation projects, including the domestically developed anti-cancer drugs Fruquintinib, Surufatinib, and Savolitinib. He also serves as an Executive Director at Tailong Investment. Prior to joining GCP ClinPlus, he held key positions at numerous leading domestic and international pharmaceutical companies, such as Hutchison MediPharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Boehringer Ingelheim, IQVIA, and InnoCare Pharma.
Dr. Xu Guang Guo, Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), previously served as Vice President and Global Head of Data Management and Biostatistics at RemeGen. With 25 years of experience in medical research and clinical study design, he has held executive positions at numerous pharmaceutical companies both in China and abroad. He led the statistical analysis of clinical data and the Biologics License Application (BLA) submission for RemeGen’s antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) biologics, which received conditional approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) for gastric cancer and urothelial carcinoma indications in May and December 2021, respectively.
Their arrival has brought GCP ClinPlus a wealth of global experience, including management expertise at large pharmaceutical companies and extensive global experience in drug development across a broad range of therapeutic areas, thereby driving the company’s excellence with a broader perspective. Meanwhile, as GCP ClinPlus consolidates diverse resources, it is building a global service network. Leveraging its global advisory teams in the United States, Canada, the European Union, and other regions, the company not only provides services to pharmaceutical enterprises but also mobilizes internal and external resources to rapidly respond to various customer needs.
Looking ahead to the future of GCP ClinPlus, Dr. Jiang Long clearly stated: “GCP ClinPlus will be committed to building core service competitiveness in the field of cell and gene therapy. This area has been the focus of my long-term research and attention. First, I have experience in investing in CAR-T projects and have personally participated in the CMO work of gene drugs. I will bring these valuable experiences and rich knowledge to GCP ClinPlus, adding depth to the company’s professional services in the field of cell and gene therapy.”In the future, GCP ClinPlus plans to deepen its expertise in the field of cell and gene therapy, continuously enhance its service capabilities based on customer needs, and expand its service scope to provide entrepreneurs with comprehensive support ranging from industrial development to clinical research.”
Meanwhile, GCP ClinPlus has demonstrated significant advantages in innovative drug projects for oncology and hematology. Over the past three years, such projects have accounted for more than 50% of the company’s pipeline of innovative drugs under development, underscoring GCP ClinPlus’s professional expertise and market leadership in this field.
Dr. Jiang Long has high hopes for the future development of GCP ClinPlus. He aims to lay the cornerstone of a global strategy by delivering international solutions with high-quality services, bringing hope and health to patients worldwide. Meanwhile, he seeks to collaborate with investment partners to create a new paradigm in CRO services, promote resource sharing, and accelerate the R&D of innovative drugs, ultimately achieving a win-win outcome for patients, medical institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and investment partners.
As a dedicated pioneer in the clinical trial industry, GCP ClinPlus has brought new treatment options and breakthroughs in long-term survival to countless patients over the past 20 years. On the road ahead, GCP ClinPlus will continue to collaborate with global clinical trial partners, leveraging professional expertise and scientific rigor to provide assistance to more patients.