ATLATL: Engineering Unicorns Across Shanghai and Beijing Through an Integrated Global Innovation Platform

On the morning of August 26, the sound of Scottish bagpipes echoed through the Innovation Building in Zhongguancun Life Science Park. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the ATLATL Beijing International Innovation Platform, located in Block B of the Innovation Building, was holding its full-scale launch ceremony.

Since its founding in 2017, ATLATL has drawn on founder Zhu Pengcheng’s years of experience in Boston building an integrated innovation ecosystem for pharmaceutical R&D. It has successively established a presence in Shanghai, Suzhou, Beijing, Singapore, and other locations, tailoring unique innovation hubs to local characteristics. By fostering interregional synergy, ATLATL has deepened and broadened its international innovation platform, helping to drive the robust growth of biotech companies.

According to the introduction,As of July this year, ATLATL has cumulatively served over 150 enterprises and projects, facilitating more than RMB 12 billion in corporate financing. Companies incubated by ATLATL have collectively obtained 80 patents and 25 clinical trial approvals, with two products approved for market launch. A number of well-known domestic biotechnology companies, including Gravel Therapeutics, Lixin Therapeutics, Vanis Life Sciences, Gaoji Health, and Langsheng Biotech, have emerged from this ecosystem.

Two years ago, ATLATL officially established its presence in Beijing as a key incubation project introduced by the Zhongguancun Life Science Park. As of the end of July 2023, the ATLATL Beijing International Innovation Platform had helped accelerate the development of more than 20 innovative biopharmaceutical teams, with total corporate financing exceeding RMB 2 billion.

From Boston and Shanghai to Suzhou and Beijing, ATLATL’s sphere of influence continues to expand; from CRISPR Therapeutics and C4 to Shenji Changhua and Kedong Biopharma, ATLATL has evolved from a “solution provider” into a “venture creator.” Over the past decade or so, how has ATLATL, under the leadership of its founder Zhu Pengcheng, taken root in China, connected with the global market, and efficiently “custom-built” unicorn companies as a “venture creator”?

Stepping into the ATLATL Beijing International Innovation Platform, one is immediately greeted by ATLATL’s robot-like slogan: “YOU DO THE RESEARCH, WE DO THE REST.” This holds an “irresistible” appeal for biopharmaceutical entrepreneurs and scientists alike.

From the perspective of Zhu Pengcheng, who has been deeply engaged in the biopharmaceutical industry for many years,The high barriers prevalent in the biopharmaceutical industry are a significant factor hindering scientists and entrepreneurs from translating research into applications or founding startups.“Biopharmaceuticals, as a capital-intensive and high-risk industry, requires substantial upfront investment and faces complex challenges in operational management and resource utilization. Moreover, despite consuming significant time and energy from entrepreneurs, the outcomes are not always satisfactory,” said Zhu Pengcheng.

Shared laboratories may be the key to solving the problem.In Boston, Zhu Pengcheng made initial attempts to establish a laboratory and implement professionalized management in alignment with multinational corporate standards. After founding NEO Innovator, he upgraded it to MiLabs (Mass Innovation Labs).In the few years since MiLabs was founded, the companies housed within it have secured over $5 billion in financing and investment, with six of them being recognized as top 15 unicorns of their respective years, thereby planting the seeds for ATLATL’s efficient “customized” unicorn incubation model.According to reports, MiLabs has incubated seven publicly listed companies to date. It has also given rise to numerous global industry benchmarks, including gene-editing firms Editas Medicine and CRISPR Therapeutics, as well as C4 Therapeutics, TCR2 Therapeutics, and Gritstone bio.

But the shared laboratory is just the tip of the iceberg in Zhu Pengcheng’s innovation lab initiatives.We do not wish to be regarded as a traditional incubator, but rather as an international innovation platform with greater breadth and higher added value. In addition to shared laboratory facilities, we provide shared operational management, on-site scientists, project directors, and access to the most cutting-edge global research, technological, and industry resources.“Zhu Pengcheng said.

To achieve this goal, ATLATL integrates common elements of biopharmaceutical R&D to improve resource utilization, transforming the traditional asset-heavy investment model into an asset-light operational model. By providing world-class laboratories and meticulous operational management, ATLATL focuses on serving and meeting the shared needs of innovative enterprises in fields such as drug development, gene editing, and vaccine research. It offers professional solutions and on-site R&D technical support, enabling innovative projects to truly achieve a “turnkey” move-in experience.

In 2017, ATLATL established its presence in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, launching the 26,000-square-meter ATLATL Innovation R&D Center. In 2020, ATLATL expanded to Suzhou BioBay, founding the ATLATL Suzhou International Innovation Center with a total area of approximately 3,400 square meters. In 2021, as a key introduced project, ATLATL arrived in Beijing, situated south of research institutes such as the National Institute of Biological Sciences and north of prestigious universities including Peking University and Tsinghua University. There, it established Phase I and II of the Beijing ATLATL International Innovation Platform, covering 8,600 square meters, to support Changping District in building the “Life Valley” with globally leading capabilities. Through its multi-location layout both domestically and internationally, ATLATL has aggregated multidimensional resources, including academic and research institutions, renowned pharmaceutical companies from China and abroad, life science instrument manufacturers, R&D service providers, and technology platforms.

In terms of scale, ATLATL has become the undisputed largest Class A shared laboratory globally, providing entrepreneurial support to countless scientists and entrepreneurs. Its public service area, which supports shared resources such as operational management, is also far beyond the reach of traditional incubators. "Taking the ATLATL Innovation R&D Center in Zhangjiang as an example, more than 7,000 square meters of its total area of 26,000 square meters are designated for public services.“said Zhu Pengcheng.”

Equipped with ready-to-use R&D spaces and on-site technical support, ATLATL further leverages its innovative business model to co-build modular platforms with the world’s leading institutions and enterprises, thereby creating an innovation ecosystem that spans from early-stage research to commercialization. These distinguished partners include multinational corporations such as AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Miltenyi Biotec, as well as China’s leading enterprises like Genewiz Bio and Easynovo Biosciences.

The so-called “venture creator” model involves investors and R&D partners jointly defining the strategic direction for new ventures. The R&D center provides the development roadmap, tailoring enterprises to address gaps in the industrial chain—thereby custom-building “unicorn” companies.Beyond shared laboratories, greater momentum is required to transform from a “solution provider” into a “venture creator.”

Step 1: With multi-dimensional, multi-resource support, ATLATL establishes a specialized research center to provide its founding team with the most cutting-edge, foundational research technologies.For example, ATLATL has partnered with ERS Genomics, an internationally renowned gene editing company, to license ERS Genomics’ CRISPR-Cas9 patent portfolio for commercial or research purposes. Additionally, ATLATL has established the CRADL “New Drug Acceleration Laboratory” in collaboration with Charles River Laboratories, a global leader in preclinical animal testing and validation, to empower innovative projects and accelerate their progress toward key milestones. The infrastructure also includes a Gene and Cell Therapy Center, a Proteomics Laboratory, and a Drug Screening Center, among others.

Secondly, ATLATL engages authoritative scientists and project directors from the industry to provide on-site R&D services and project management.According to reports, ATLATL currently has 12 project directors in China, Singapore, and other regions, jointly driving the proof-of-concept for multiple pipelines worldwide.

Step 3: Collaborate with internationally renowned top-tier research institutions on R&D, co-develop a modular platform, and “conduct joint R&D.”According to reports, these modular platforms include the BI-ATLATL Joint Innovation Laboratory co-established with Boehringer Ingelheim of Germany, the MITC-ATLATL Innovation Technology Center co-established with Miltenyi Biotec of Germany, the SEQ-ATLATL Multi-Omics Sequencing Research Platform co-established with Seqhealth Tech, and the Omics-ATLATL Protein Technology Innovation Platform co-established with Easycalc Bio.

In collaborations with external innovation platforms of multinational corporations, ATLATL has the opportunity to amplify ecosystem value and gain broader access to top-tier global research institutions and scientists. Furthermore, ATLATL can leverage its ecosystem to integrate into the industry and serve as a source of innovation.

Step 4: Establish an integrated assembly system to shorten project launch time.Following the provision of ideas, instruments, and technologies, ATLATL has established a comprehensive R&D service system, including pilot-scale platforms. Initially, ATLATL coordinated on-site partners and neighboring companies to provide integrated R&D and assembly services for a company spun out from a renowned research institute in Boston. In 2019, ATLATL hosted a summit on IT+BT (Information Technology + Biotechnology) with major multinational pharmaceutical companies and investment firms, proposing the “AVIC+Lab” model, and subsequently conducted experimental validation for an AI-driven drug design company. Furthermore, ATLATL has provided integrated R&D and assembly solutions for a UK-based company and offered CRO/FTE services to its on-site enterprises. Currently, ATLATL is actively piloting its Interactive Research Service (IRS). It is reported that ATLATL is constructing two large-scale pilot platforms, focusing on medical devices and cell therapy.

Driven by ATLATL’s integrated spatial and management solutions, the roster of major corporate partners continues to expand, with research teams from globally renowned companies such as WuXi AppTec, Eli Lilly, and Bayer having established their presence. “For large enterprises, this enables them to identify promising innovative technologies in the industry at the earliest opportunity while simultaneously deepening their operations in China. As for us, true quality withstands any test. Notably, clients like AstraZeneca finalized their partnership only after a six-month third-party due diligence process, which amply demonstrates the robust capabilities of ATLATL’s Class A shared laboratories.”

On this globally oriented platform, numerous seed-stage companies have already achieved significant growth and development: Vanse Therapeutics, an emerging leader in innovative research and clinical development in oncology, has received FDA Orphan Drug Designation for PT217, a treatment for small cell lung cancer; HighCure Biologics’ first-in-class TNFR2 agonist antibody HFB200301 has obtained FDA approval to proceed with clinical trials; and Shenji Changhua has officially launched clinical trials of single intrathecal injection of SNUG01, its gene therapy candidate for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Founded in 2019, Grail Bio is a typical example of a company served by ATLATL. It focuses on the most cutting-edge, competitive, and industrially promising technological direction in the field of solid tumor immunotherapy—the research and development (R&D) and application of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes (TILs). In just two years, the startup progressed from its inception to completing three rounds of financing from multiple professional venture capital firms, including Hillhouse Capital, becoming an innovative enterprise valued at over $100 million. ATLATL provided it with minimally sized modular laboratories, supported a complete set of cell therapy R&D equipment and processes supplied by Miltenyi Biotec, offered guidance from a top-tier team of resident scientists and engineers, and helped Grail Bio rapidly enter clinical trials. Currently, the R&D of Grail Bio’s TIL therapy has entered a new phase. Its independently developed TIL therapy, which holds global patents and is the first of its kind in China, successfully completed the enrollment of its first patient at the Fifth Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital.

Kedong Bio, a company focused on the research and development of suppressor tRNAs, is a typical example of ATLATL’s “customized incubation” model. Globally, biopharmaceutical companies specializing in tRNA therapy development, including Kedong Bio, have established their presence. Behind these enterprises stand top-tier incubators and venture capital firms such as Flagship Pioneering, Takeda Ventures, and ARCH Venture Partners. Multinational pharmaceutical companies like Vertex have also begun to explore this field. Some perspectives suggest that following the surge in mRNA therapies, tRNA therapies may become the next major trend in gene therapy. Similarly, in addition to providing personalized services to Kedong Bio, ATLATL has made early-stage investments in the company. Currently, Kedong Bio, founded just one year ago, has grown into a biopharmaceutical enterprise with a team of dozens.

From China to overseas regions such as the United States and the United Kingdom, ATLATL has completed proof-of-concept projects for multiple startups.It was revealed that ATLATL is currently advancing four pipeline-related proof-of-concept or incubation projects globally.。

At the grand launch ceremony of the ATLATL Beijing International Innovation Platform, the first batch of tenants for Phase II officially signed lease agreements. These tenants include Shenyuanzhiyao Biotechnology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., Ruiyu (Beijing) Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Beijing Molecule Mind Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing Weiyuan Digital Intelligence Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing Hemu Biotechnology Co., Ltd., and Beisai Hongsheng (Beijing) Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Currently, the Beijing International Innovation Platform project encompasses R&D and innovation fields such as drug development, gene editing, novel therapeutic technologies, and AI-driven drug design.

From Shanghai and Suzhou to Beijing, from China to the world, ATLATL collaborates directly with renowned domestic and international research institutions, universities, high-tech industrial parks, and government agencies. By aggregating resources to originate and create new projects, as well as planning and participating in the development, construction, and operation of integrated innovation platforms, ATLATL facilitates the rapid translation of cutting-edge technologies into practical applications.

With the full launch of the ATLATL Beijing International Innovation Platform, ATLATL is intensively preparing for the construction of its Phase III facility. It is reported that ATLATL plans to develop the “Life Valley Dart Innovation Complex,” spanning 75,000 square meters within the Zhongguancun Life Science Park Phase III area. This initiative aims to aggregate innovation resources and empower innovative startups, establishing an integrated hub for the entire industry chain—covering basic research, pilot-scale R&D, production and distribution, and end-user medical services—as well as a source center for cutting-edge, high-quality biopharmaceutical projects.

YOU DO THE RESEARCH, WE DO THE REST.With this goal in mind, ATLATL has launched the “Aseed + Maiden Voyage Initiative,” a five-year program designed to support proof-of-concept validation and incubation for 50 cutting-edge life science innovation projects, with the aim of cultivating unicorn companies.