Synthetic Biology Series Kickoff: Reflecting on Overcoming Key Innovation Challenges

Looking back at China, early entrants such as Cathay Biotech and Huaheng Biotechnology have, after more than two decades of development, successfully established integrated value chains and completed their initial public offerings (IPOs). Meanwhile, the new wave of technological innovation has expanded the creative horizons of synthetic biology, giving rise to a continuous emergence of novel bio-manufacturing pioneers.In the era of all-things-synthesis, key challenges such as “difficulties in product selection” and “challenges in process scale-up” remain insurmountable. On the path that equally emphasizes technology and commercialization, when should companies choose independent R&D versus external collaboration? Which pathways from laboratory to industrialization have been accelerated by new technologies?

VCBeat New Medicine and VCBeat Orange Fruit Bureau invited Dr. Chen Lu, Deputy Director of Huaheng Biotechnology Research Institute, and Dr. Du Jun, Vice President of Tsingke Biotechnology, to jointly explore “realism” in synthetic biology.。

Chen Lu | Deputy Director of the Research Institute, Huaheng Biology

M.S. in Marine Biology from Tsinghua University; Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Lund University, Sweden. Previously held key positions including Research Fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, remote). Led and participated in numerous major international projects driven by synthetic biology technologies, such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Agile BioFoundry-ORNL, and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Sustainable Plastics and Transition Pathways and Greenchem initiatives. Possesses extensive experience in genomic engineering of microbial chassis bacteria, with research and technical development and management expertise covering lactic acid bacteria, Corynebacterium, yeast, and a range of non-model microbial strains. Leveraged microbial systems to research and develop green biomaterial molecules such as 3-hydroxypropionaldehyde, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, 1,3-butanediol, and adipic acid. Has long focused on the application of bacterial microcompartments in biomanufacturing, dedicated to addressing bottleneck issues in the industrial application of microbes in biochemical engineering.

Du Jun | Vice President, Tsingke Biotechnology

Former Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Biological Fermentation Industry Association, and former Executive Deputy Director of the National Corn Deep-Processing Rectification Office (established by the National Development and Reform Commission). A key contributor to the national biological industry plans and biological fermentation industry plans during the 11th, 12th, and 13th Five-Year Plan periods. Serves as a visiting or distinguished professor at eight universities, including Hubei University, Central South University, Anhui University, Zhejiang University of Technology, Beijing Technology and Business University, Henan University of Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, and Zhejiang Gongshang University. Member of the Chinese Biological Fermentation Technology Committee, member of the Chinese Food Standards Review Committee, member of the Expert Review Committee (Biological Group) of the National Development and Reform Commission, member of the expert reviewer pool of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and member of the scientific and technological review expert committees in six provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shandong, and Tianjin. Previously served as an independent director and strategic advisor for more than ten listed companies, including GenScript, Zhejiang Huakang Pharmaceutical, Anhui Huaheng Biotechnology, Lotus MSG, and Longli Biochemical.

Huaheng Biotechnology, established in April 2005, is a national key high-tech enterprise under the National Torch Program and a listed company on the STAR Market. Centered on synthetic biology technology, the company is integrated with R&D, production, and sales of bio-based products and their derivatives. The company has undertaken key national scientific and technological research projects and high-tech industrialization projects, including the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Key Special Project on “Synthetic Biology” and the National Development and Reform Commission’s Demonstration Special Project for the Bioindustry. It has received numerous honors, such as the MIIT Manufacturing Single Champion Product, the First Prize for Technological Invention from the China National Light Industry Council, the National Intellectual Property Administration’s Patent Advantage Enterprise, the China Patent Excellence Award, the Anhui Province Patent Gold Award, and the National Green Factory designation. The company has long served many Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders, including BASF (Germany), Ajinomoto (Japan), DSM (Switzerland), Nouryon (Netherlands), and ADM (USA). Its main products cover business segments such as bio-based intermediates, animal nutrition, plant nutrition, functional food nutrition, and daily chemical care, with the production and sales volumes of multiple products ranking among the top globally.

Tsingke Biotechnology is a national high-tech enterprise in synthetic biology, engaged in the research and development of synthetic genomics and biosynthetic products. Its business scope covers three major areas: synthetic genomics products and services, life science research equipment and raw materials, and biological manufacturing CRO/CDMO. Headquartered in Beijing, the company operates entities and laboratories across China, with its business extending from the domestic market to overseas countries including the United States and Germany, serving approximately 160,000 users worldwide. The company performs approximately 200 million base syntheses annually, independently produces over 200 types of nucleic acid raw materials and consumables, has developed and manufactured China’s first self-patented 768-channel blow-press synthesizer, and possesses China’s first independently developed intelligent gene synthesis production line, capable of industrial-scale gene synthesis up to 160 kb.

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