Chongqing Launches Innovative Medical Industry Chain at 2019 Smart China Expo, Attracting Global Talent and Enterprises

On August 23, 2019, the opening ceremony of the Chongqing New Medical Industry Park and the Medical Innovation Summit were grandly held at the Yuzhou Hotel.

The summit was jointly hosted by the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, the People’s Government of Yuzhong District, Chongqing Municipality, the Sinopharm Medical Device Research Institute, and Chongqing Medical University; organized by Guojian Medical Technology Co., Ltd. and Guojian Capital Medical Investment Company; and co-organized by the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Chongqing University, the Chongqing Huayi Health Industry Technology Achievement Transformation Center, Chongqing Bairuike Company, the Beibei National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone in Chongqing Municipality, and the Chongqing Alumni Association of Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

Distinguished attendees included Academician Li Jian’an, International Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine; Luo Li, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Medical Products Administration; Wang Yong, Executive Deputy District Mayor of Yuzhong District People’s Government, Chongqing; Qiao Hong, Deputy District Mayor of Yuzhong District People’s Government, Chongqing; Yang Zhu, Vice President of Chongqing Medical University; and Sun Qinghua from the Pharmaceutical Division of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology, among other leaders and industry pioneers. The event drew more than 200 industry elites.

Wang Yong, Member of the Standing Committee of the Yuzhong District Committee of the Communist Party of China and Executive Deputy District Mayor, delivered an address at the conference, expressing his hope that the “new medical industry chain” would yield results early and achieve substantial outcomes, thereby becoming a vital force in Chongqing’s development of the biopharmaceutical and general health industries.

“We hope that this conference will facilitate deeper and more efficient collaboration between the emerging medical industry chain and Chongqing Medical University, jointly promoting the development of the innovation ecosystem surrounding CQMU,” said Yang Zhu, Vice President of Chongqing Medical University, in his address at the conference. Luo Li, Member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Medical Products Administration, pointed out that the implementation of the Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) system would significantly foster innovative development in the medical device industry, while also posing new challenges to industry supervision and regulation. She expressed the hope that the emerging medical industry chain would seize opportunities and accelerate industrial development on the basis of legal and regulatory compliance.

During the keynote session of the conference, Academician Li Jian’an, a leading authority in rehabilitation medicine, reiterated the importance of proactive health, stating, “Only by continuously focusing on and developing products and services for proactive health can we truly improve the nation’s health status, reduce medical costs, and realize the vision of Healthy China.”

Liu Hui, Vice President of the Medical Device Research Institute of Sinopharm Group, stated that the medical device industry is poised to embrace a historic opportunity, with its development inevitably progressing through stages of compliance, innovation, and sharing. He expressed hope that the emerging medical industry chain will drive innovation through medical-engineering collaboration and establish shared generic technology platforms, thereby playing a more significant role in Chongqing’s biomedical industry.

Xu Hui, Chairman of Chongqing Kefeng Venture Capital, delivered an insightful speech titled “Building the Western Medical Highland by Creating an Innovation Ecosystem Around Chongqing Medical University” from the perspective of regional planning. Ge Yao, Executive Dean of the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Chongqing University, gave a compelling presentation on “Exploration and Practice of Collaborative Innovation in Higher Education.” Since the establishment of the new medical industry chain, we have combined external introductions with local resources to jointly establish the Guojian Medical Research Institute with the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Chongqing University, creating a shared technology platform. With the support of Chongqing Medical University, we founded the Medical Technology Transfer Center to jointly advance the construction of clinical trial service bases. Furthermore, with the support of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology and the Yuzhong District Government, we established the “Medical Venture Capital Fund” and the “New Medical Accelerator.”

Pan Dong, General Manager of Guojian Medical Technology Co., Ltd., stated that since the project’s inception, nearly 40 global experts in biomedicine have been recruited, along with 39 enterprises and partner organizations. Building on this foundation, the project has introduced outstanding global research achievements, facilitated the local translation of R&D results, and attracted high-quality enterprises to establish operations in Chongqing, thereby integrating clinical, scientific, and industrial resources to create a collaborative innovation network. During the signing ceremony at this summit, agreements were signed with 12 newly settled enterprises and 10 partner enterprises and research institutions. Additionally, R&D cooperation agreements were executed with three research institutions: the School of Pharmacy and Bioengineering at Chongqing University of Technology, the National-Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Vascular Implant Development (Chongqing University), and the Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Silk Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine (Southwest University). The collaboration encompasses jointly undertaking international cooperation projects outside the municipality and national-level research initiatives, facilitating the establishment and local production of innovative industries in Chongqing, and pursuing continuous joint R&D and technological upgrades.

At the dedicated signing ceremony, a strategic cooperation agreement was signed between the new-type medical industry chain and China Unicom Chongqing Branch, with both parties committing to collaborate on the deep integration of 5G technology and healthcare.

“A single flower does not make spring, while a hundred flowers in full bloom bring spring to the garden.” At the launch ceremony of the “New Medical Industry Chain Alliance,” Sun Qinghua from the Pharmaceutical Division of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology stated that to truly transform the healthcare industry through innovation, it is essential to unite domestic and international universities, research institutes, enterprises, and financial institutions. By integrating cross-regional and cross-industry innovative resources based on corporate development needs and mutual interests, a technical innovation cooperative organization can be established featuring joint development, complementary advantages, shared benefits, and risk sharing.

The opening ceremony of Chongqing’s New Medical Industry Chain Park and the Medical Innovation Summit received widespread support and positive feedback from government bodies and various sectors of the healthcare industry. The further development of this new medical industry chain signifies that more professionals will take deep root in Chongqing’s medical and health innovation sector, pooling their strengths to jointly usher in a new era for the industry.

The new medical industry chain was a key project introduced at the 2018 Smart China Expo. The project entity, Guojian Medical Technology Co., Ltd., is an industrial chain operation company established in Chongqing by Guojian Capital, the investment arm under Sinopharm Group. The project aims to integrate Sinopharm’s industrial resources with Chongqing’s clinical, scientific research, and industrial resources to jointly build a collaborative innovation network. In alignment with the city’s master plan for developing the biomedical industry, the project focuses on novel medical devices, new medical technologies, and new medical services. It seeks to introduce intellectual property achievements and attract high-end domestic and international professionals, while establishing multiple platforms including a “Common Technology Platform,” “Clinical Trial Base,” “Technology Transfer and Commercialization Center,” “Industrial Service Platform,” “Intelligent Manufacturing Base,” and “Integrated Marketing Services.” Building on these foundations, the project will facilitate the commercialization of local R&D outcomes, introduce outstanding external research projects, and encourage leading enterprises and projects to settle in Chongqing, thereby creating an integrated industrial chain encompassing technology R&D, achievement transformation, intelligent manufacturing, and market sales, with endogenous innovation capabilities.