Zhirui International Biotech Innovation Incubation Center Breaks Ground in Chongqing International BioCity

On June 23, construction commenced on the Zhirui International Biopharma Innovation Incubation Center, a new high-tech incubation platform for Chongqing’s biopharmaceutical industry, located in the Chongqing International Biological City. The center will focus on three key areas: therapeutic biologics, vaccines, and general-purpose technology platforms, supporting Chongqing’s efforts to build a domestically leading full industrial chain for biopharmaceuticals. Xiong Xue, Vice Mayor of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Chongqing High-Tech Zone, along with representatives from relevant municipal departments and Banan District, attended the groundbreaking ceremony.

It is reported that the Zhirui International Bio-industry Innovation Incubation Center, which has commenced construction, represents a total investment of RMB 1 billion. With a gross floor area of 22,000 square meters, the project plans to establish 8–10 basic research platforms and three pilot-scale production workshops. By creating an attractive environment to draw in top-tier talent and enterprises (“building the nest to attract the phoenix”), it aims to become a high-tech platform integrating basic research, clinical research, and industrial development. Key incubation areas include therapeutic biologics, vaccines, and general technology platforms. In the field of therapeutic biologics, the focus is on developing innovative products for oncology, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and autoimmune diseases. In the vaccine sector, emphasis is placed on researching and developing vaccines for common and frequently occurring diseases with high incidence rates and severe health impacts, prioritizing varieties that are in short supply domestically. Regarding general technology platforms, the goal is to develop forward-looking, world-class biotechnology R&D platforms to build technical reserves for product upgrades and the development of innovative varieties.

“Once completed, the Zhirui International Bio-Industry Innovation Incubation Center will also serve as a third-party public platform, providing R&D and incubation services to research teams and startups in Chongqing International Bio-City. It will accumulate momentum for upgrading the technological innovation and development of Chongqing’s biopharmaceutical sector, helping to build a domestically leading full industrial chain for biological drugs,” said Jiang Lingfeng, Chairman of Chongqing Zhirui Investment Co., Ltd.

Chongqing Zhirui Investment Co., Ltd. is a partially owned subsidiary of Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd. It has invested in and constructed the Zhirui Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park in Chongqing International Bio-City, integrating R&D incubation, process scale-up, clinical evaluation, and industrialization. The park covers an area of over 800 mu, with a total construction area of 400,000 square meters. Phase I of the project has been completed, with cumulative investments nearing RMB 8 billion. Five enterprises have settled in the park, developing more than 30 biological drug products under research, including antibodies and insulin. Among these, 12 varieties have entered clinical trials, and nine Class 1 new drugs have filled gaps in related fields in Chongqing and across China.

“In the future, we will continue to increase our investment, accelerating the time-to-market for our products while intensifying R&D efforts in key technologies and innovative drugs. Our goal is to provide the public with more trustworthy and affordable innovative biological medicines, offer powerful tools for the prevention and control of major diseases, and make greater contributions to the development of the biopharmaceutical and broader health industries,” said Jiang Rensheng, Chairman of Zhifei Biological Products, in his address.

On June 1 this year, the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government reviewed and approved the “Several Measures on Supporting the Construction of Chongqing International Bio-City as a Demonstration Site for the Transfer and Transformation of Biotechnological Achievements.” Adhering to the principles of pioneering trials and simultaneous breakthroughs and establishment, these measures draw on advanced experiences from cities such as Hefei, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. They comprise 28 specific provisions across eight categories, including self-developed, breakthrough, and reference-based measures. The aim is to accelerate the development of Chongqing International Bio-City into an internationally renowned demonstration site for the transfer and transformation of biotechnological achievements, a national hub for outstanding talents in new medical sciences, a globally influential source of life science innovation, and a world-class cluster for the biomedical industry, thereby supporting Chongqing’s establishment of a National Demonstration Zone for the Transfer and Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements.

It is reported that in recent years, Banan District has relied on the Chongqing International Biological City as a foundation and focused on gathering innovative resources to systematically enhance its basic innovation capabilities. The Chongqing International Institute of Immunology is committed to building a top-tier domestic platform for immunological research and development (R&D) and achievement transformation with international influence. By establishing the Gaofeng Lake Innovation Ecosystem, the district has created a large-scale innovation and entrepreneurship incubation community covering 500,000 square meters, constructing a full-chain incubation system comprising “mass innovation spaces + incubators + accelerators.” This system provides one-stop services including R&D, testing and inspection, pilot-scale maturation, and intellectual property management. Projects such as the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Digital Medicine Joint Technology Center and the Duochuang Drug R&D Service Platform have been established in the area. Enterprises like Zhirui Biotechnology have focused on key areas such as novel antibody drugs, recombinant protein vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines, and peptide drugs. They have built the city’s first antibody drug R&D center and are accelerating the development of national-level platforms, including a national vaccine incubation center and a domestically leading peptide drug R&D center.

Currently, Chongqing International Bio-City has 33 innovative drugs under development, with 17 having entered clinical trials. Eight products, including the nine-valent HPV vaccine and IL-17A inhibitors, have advanced to Phase III clinical trials, leading the city in both the quantity and quality of pipeline and clinical-stage products. Notably, secukinumab for the treatment of psoriasis is poised to become the first domestically produced IL-17A-targeting monoclonal antibody approved for market launch, making a new contribution to the development of the city’s biopharmaceutical industry.

“Ban’an District is witnessing robust momentum in the development of its biopharmaceutical industry. From January to May this year, the output value of industrial enterprises above designated size in Chongqing International Bio-City increased by 37.06% year-on-year, while industrial investment surged by 63.83% year-on-year. Moving forward, we will thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the municipal party committee and municipal government, accelerate the high-quality development of the big health industry with biopharmaceuticals at its core, and foster new drivers for the transformation and upgrading of the city’s industries,” said a relevant official from Ban’an District.