How to Build a Medical and Health Landmark City? Ningbo Has Its Say!

As a significant growth driver of China’s economy, the life and health industry boasts broad development prospects. During the recent pandemic, biopharmaceuticals, serving as the vanguard in the fight against viruses, have demonstrated their critical value in strengthening China’s public health system. Consequently, biopharmaceuticals have been designated by the state as a strategic emerging industry prioritized for development. Meanwhile, driven by supportive policies, capital inflows, talent availability, and other factors, the life and health industry—represented by the biopharmaceutical sector—has entered a phase of rapid growth.Live Stream Channel

Since the issuance of the Outline of the Healthy China Plan, national and local governments have vigorously promoted the construction of public health systems and the development of the health industry. As one of the first 38 pilot cities for the National Healthy City initiative in China, Ningbo successively released the Action Outline for Healthy Ningbo 2030 and the Action Plan for the Development of Ningbo’s Health Industry (2018–2020) in 2018, proposing to establish the health industry as a new engine for Ningbo’s economic transformation and upgrading, as well as one of the pillar industries of the national economy. In March 2020, Ningbo issued the Guiding Opinions on Seizing Opportunities to Accelerate the Development of Emerging Industries in Key Areas, which stated that, while prioritizing the development of biopharmaceuticals, the city would comprehensively develop the medical and health industry, including medical devices, health services, and fitness products. In August 2020, the Ningbo Municipal People’s Government again promulgated the Opinions of the General Office of the Ningbo Municipal People’s Government on Promoting the Development of the Biopharmaceutical Industry. These Opinions primarily focus on the research and development, manufacturing, and service sectors of biopharmaceuticals (excluding distribution), and provide strong support for pharmaceuticals and raw/excipient materials, medical devices and core components, and new technologies.

Ningbo’s health industry development has entered a fast track. However, to achieve the RMB 100 billion target for the biopharmaceutical sector, cultivating leading enterprises (projects) and reshaping the industrial ecosystem are critical tasks for Ningbo to become a future landmark city in the medical and health industry. To accelerate the development of a healthy city, the “Policy Opinions of Ningbo Municipality on Accelerating the Development of the Biopharmaceutical Industry” focuses on attracting and nurturing industrialization projects (enterprises) to gradually drive and form a robust industrial ecosystem. Ningbo has chosen biopharmaceuticals as a key component and foundation for strengthening emerging industries in priority areas.

The life and health industry is characterized by high investment, high risk, advanced technology, high value-added, and long development cycles, which collectively drive its clustered development. Notably, biomedical industrial parks emerged alongside high-tech zones and, after three decades of growth, have gradually formed three major industrial clusters centered around the Bohai Rim, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta.

As the economic hub of the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta, Ningbo boasts inherent locational advantages in developing the life and health industry, particularly in the field of biopharmaceuticals. In 2018, Ningbo selected its southern gateway as the site for the construction of Ningbo Life Science City, vigorously promoting the broader health and medical industries. Leveraging the pre-existing advantage of resources from Ningbo No. 1 Hospital, Ningbo Life Science City has planned six industrial plots to develop core medical technologies, establish a closed-loop industrial chain across upstream and downstream sectors, accelerate the incubation of scientific research and innovation, and create a multi-dimensional landscape for the comprehensive health industry. The development of Ningbo Life Science City provides high-quality “soil” for the growth of the biopharmaceutical sector, a trillion-yuan-level industry within Ningbo’s “246” trillion-yuan industrial cluster initiative.

As a key new economic growth point prioritized for cultivation in Ningbo, the introduction of a series of policies, including the “Three-Year Action Plan for Cultivating Biopharmaceutical Industry Clusters in Ningbo (2020–2022)” and the “Opinions on Accelerating the Development of the Biopharmaceutical Industry,” has positioned high-quality development of the biopharmaceutical sector as a crucial component and foundation for strengthening emerging industries in key areas. These policies provide robust support and clear strategic direction for implementing targeted measures to foster the general health industry and accelerate the scaled, clustered, and high-end development of the biopharmaceutical sector.

Scan the QR code to watch the live stream

Guided by a strong sense of social responsibility as a central state-owned enterprise, what transformations will China Jinmao’s urban operation expertise bring to Ningbo? Driven by the dual engines of planning and capital, what kind of big health industry ecosystem will Ningbo Life Science City build to achieve industrial and urban upgrading, and establish itself as a model new city for innovative big health industries in the Yangtze River Delta? Furthermore, how can it seize the opportunities presented by the “integrated development” of the Yangtze River Delta, actively introduce and strengthen cultivation efforts, and proactively integrate into the regional biopharmaceutical value chain and innovation network? To address these questions, VCBeat, a third-party professional service provider in the medical and healthcare sector, has joined forces with Ningbo Life Science City to co-host the “Ningbo Urban Drive Innovation Forum and Policy Interpretation on Life and Health.”

Themed “Power of Innovation and Change · Urban Future,” this forum will be held at 14:30 on the afternoon of October 30, 2020, focusing on policy interpretations regarding Ningbo’s promotion of the biomedical industry development.Live Streaming Channel

It is reported that the forum will invite a distinguished lineup of guests, including industry experts, representatives from investment institutions and industrial research organizations, as well as city operators, to discuss cutting-edge topics such as the development of the healthcare industry, the breakthrough transformation and upgrading of life sciences enterprises, and strategic considerations for operating future landmark healthcare cities.

The forum will be live-streamed online, bringing together professionals from the medical and health industries to discuss the future development of cities and establish new benchmarks for industrial blueprints.