VB100 Innovators' Landing Program: Catalyzing Medical Innovation Clusters in the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone

The emergence of the Medical Device Industrial Park has not only provided high-quality “soil” for the development of innovative startups in the medical device sector, but also serves as a significant force in Nanjing’s implementation of the national “Healthy China” strategy. The park offers a favorable ecosystem through supportive policies, ancillary services, talent supply, and financial backing. Within one year of its opening, it has attracted 53 new medical device manufacturing enterprises and nearly 200 research, scientific, and trading companies to settle in the park.

Notably, the Jiangsu Provincial Medical Products Administration (MPA) and the Wuxi Municipal People’s Government have established the “Wuxi High-Tech Zone Biopharmaceutical Industry Innovation Development Service Center” within I·Campus. Under the guidance of the National MPA and the Jiangsu Provincial MPA, the center provides professional services to park enterprises, including policy, regulatory, and technical consulting; review of market access documentation; centralized submission; and guidance on addressing deficiencies. Through this pilot initiative, known as the “Green Channel for Drug and Device Market Access,” the product registration and related services for high-quality life science innovation projects from both domestic and overseas enterprises can be significantly accelerated, thereby addressing longstanding pain points faced by companies.

Yuecheng District in Shaoxing is prioritizing the development of specialized industries in health equipment and new medical materials. To address key challenges faced by medical device enterprises—such as difficulties in obtaining regulatory approvals, securing financing, attracting talent, and expanding market access—Yuecheng District adheres to the development philosophy of “innovation + services” to promote high-quality growth in the medical device industry. Specifically, 28 new policy measures have been formulated and implemented for the industrial development plan of the medical device sector, covering areas including talent acquisition, establishment of industrial funds, and financial support, with a particular focus on supporting innovation-driven development among medical device companies. To enhance the capacity and quality of innovation services, the district has fully adopted a year-round application and acceptance model for certification. It has also established an integrated platform for industrial innovation services featuring three lists: a “service provider list,” a “corporate development needs list,” and a “list of key generic technological challenges.” These initiatives aim to provide zero-distance, professional services to technology-based enterprises.

To date, Shaoxing has established major platforms such as the National Torch Program’s Shaoxing Characteristic Industrial Base for Health Equipment and New Medical Materials, the “Wanmu Qianyi” (Ten Thousand Mu and One Hundred Billion Yuan) Emerging Industry Platform for High-End Biopharmaceuticals in Shaoxing Binhai New Area, and the Zhejiang Provincial Shaoxing Yuecheng Medical Device Industry Innovation Service Complex. The city is home to more than 80 medical device companies. Industry leaders such as Zhende Medical, Mingfeng Medical, Haisheng Medical, Damei Bioengineering, and Tongchuang Bioengineering have all emerged and grown here.

The Life Science Industrial Park in the Lingang New Area, located within the Lingang Fengxian Park, is a vital component of the Lingang New Area’s pilot zone. This park is being developed as an international biopharmaceutical industrial base that integrates R&D, manufacturing, testing, and exhibition functions. It serves as the core cluster for the biopharmaceutical industry within the Lingang New Area’s initial launch zone, encompassing biopharmaceuticals, high-end medical devices, and international medical services. The park strategically focuses on four key areas: precision diagnostics, precision therapeutics, precision surgery, and extended health services. By benchmarking against the highest international standards and best practices, and drawing on the development experience of leading global biopharmaceutical hubs, the park aims to become a world-class international biopharmaceutical industry cluster.

Among them, Hangzhou Medicine Port is located in the northwest of Qiantang New Area. With its superior location and convenient transportation, it serves as the core area for the biopharmaceutical industry in Zhejiang Province and Hangzhou City. It has successively been awarded titles such as National Demonstration Base for Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Core Area of the National High-Tech Industrial Base for the Bioindustry.

From its inception, the initiative has been dedicated to integrating and aggregating global biomedical resources, with a focus on advancing a comprehensive, full-chain ecosystem for the biopharmaceutical industry through the convergence of “six chains.” It targets four key sectors: biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, biomedical engineering, and healthcare big data. To date, seven of the world’s top ten pharmaceutical companies—including Pfizer, Merck & Co., Abbott, Eli Lilly, and Johnson & Johnson—have established a presence here, alongside a large number of unicorn and near-unicorn enterprises. The cluster now comprises more than 1,000 biopharmaceutical companies.