Wu Jieping Medical Foundation and Bohui Ruojin Launch Specialized Surgical Innovation Fund to Bridge Clinical Practice and R&D
On March 21, 2019, the annual conference of the Chinese Journal of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery was held in Hangzhou. The launch ceremony of the Wu Jieping Medical Foundation–Biosis Healing Excellence in Surgery Special Fund, together with the new product launch event of Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology Co., Ltd., was grandly held at this annual conference.
This special fund is the first of its kind in China’s surgical field, with an initial launch capital of RMB 2 million. The fund will exclusively support surgeons engaged in clinical scientific research to carry out activities such as academic exchanges, education and training, and clinical research, with a particular focus on research into the clinical application of biodegradable biomaterials in surgical repair. In 2019, the fund plans to support 40 clinical surgical research projects, with each project receiving a grant of RMB 50,000 over a funding period of two years.
To ensure the academic integrity and impartiality of the special fund’s research projects, a dedicated Review Committee has been established. The committee comprises the following experts: Professor Chen Jie from the Department of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University; Professor Tang Jianxiong from Huadong Hospital, Fudan University; Professor Li Jianwen from the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Professor Chen Shuang from the Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University; Professor Liu Ziwen from the Gland Surgery Center, Peking Union Medical College Hospital; and Professor Shen Yingmo from Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University. They provide fair, impartial, professional, and authoritative opinions on the research projects.
Wu Jieping Medical Foundation Chairman Xiao Meng and Director Chen Linjun of the Ministry of Science and Technology attended the event in person. Together with leading figures in hernia and abdominal wall surgery—Professors Chen Jie, Tang Jianxiong, Li Jianwen, Chen Shuang, Liu Ziwen, and Shen Yingmo—as well as Zhao Bo, Chairman of Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology Co., Ltd., and CEO Li Xuejun, they jointly pressed the launch button for the Wu Jieping Medical Foundation–Biosis Healing Excellence in Surgery Special Fund.
In China, the number of hernia patients reaches 3 to 5 million annually, with inguinal hernia being the most prevalent type, accounting for more than 90% of all hernia cases. Although Chinese surgeons perform a large volume of operations each year, no surgical technique is named after a Chinese physician. Similarly, in terms of medical products, the technology for preparing highly bioactive tissue repair materials is largely monopolized by foreign manufacturers. This situation reflects the gap between the development of surgery in China and abroad.
Professor Chen Jie pointed out in an interview, “In terms of the development gap between China and other countries, first, domestic practice has height but lacks breadth. In major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, the number of tension-free hernia repair surgeries may even exceed that in European and American countries; however, in some primary care hospitals and remote areas, tension-based hernia repairs are still not standardized. Second, the follow-up system is inadequate. We have performed a large number of surgeries, but there is no long-term monitoring of outcomes, nor is data collected in a quantified manner. Third, there are relatively few independently developed and domestically produced materials. Fourth, our scientific research and publications lag behind in multi-center studies, large-sample studies, and randomized controlled trials. Consequently, we have relatively few high-quality papers.”
In addition to innovation capabilities, the standardization and normalization of diagnosis and treatment are also bottlenecks in the development of modern surgery in China.
Professor Chen Shuang stated, “In fact, our technical skills are not inferior to those abroad, as physicians accumulate extensive surgical experience each year. However, basic research remains relatively weak. Furthermore, with hundreds of thousands of surgeons, we still need to make significant efforts to improve the standardization, consistency, and normative practices in diagnosis and treatment.”
The Wu Jieping Medical Foundation and Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology Co., Ltd. jointly established the “Wu Jieping Medical Foundation–Biosis Healing Excellence in Surgery Special Fund” with the primary aim of contributing to the advancement of modern surgery. The fund seeks to build a bridge for collaborative synergy among upstream and downstream industries, as well as among academia, research, production, and clinical practice. It is dedicated to promoting the clinical application of new technologies and products with independent intellectual property rights in China, addressing key common clinical challenges in tissue repair and functional regeneration, enhancing the nation’s technological and industrialization capabilities in this field, breaking the monopoly held by foreign technologies, achieving import substitution, and providing high-quality, affordable tissue repair products to patients, thereby improving their quality of life.
“The Wu Jieping Medical Foundation–Biosis Healing Excellence in Surgery Special Fund can draw clinical surgeons’ attention to scientific research, particularly among young physicians, enabling them to participate directly in the research and development of innovative products. Clinical challenges encountered in practice can be rapidly fed back to accelerate product development.” Professor Tang Jianxiong, Director of the Department of General Surgery at Huadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, described how the special fund serves as a vital source of motivation, stimulating engagement across all stakeholders in surgery and ultimately benefiting patients.
Chairman Xiaomeng of the Wu Jieping Medical Foundation Delivers Remarks at the Fund Launch Ceremony
Dr. Wang Lei, Sales Director of Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology Co., Ltd., Introduces the Company’s New Product
Why did the 2019 Special Fund choose to prioritize clinical research on the clinical application of biodegradable biomaterials in surgical repair, focus on the scope of surgical clinical studies, and encourage prospective, large-sample, randomized controlled clinical trials?
From the perspective of medical advancement, regenerative repair represents the future direction of surgery. Professor Li Jianwen explained to reporters, “There is a significant gap between reconstruction and regeneration, making this leap extremely challenging. For instance, in the case of an abdominal wall defect, we might use a synthetic mesh for repair. The material must have sufficient strength; while steel is hard enough, it is unsuitable. It also needs compliance; although plastic sheeting is soft enough, it lacks breathability. In contrast, biomaterials implanted at the defect site can provide structural support and induce abdominal wall regeneration, ultimately leading to the formation of the patient’s own tissue. As biomaterials continue to evolve, dedicated fund investment in this area is highly meaningful.”
From the perspective of clinicians, research into the clinical applications of degradable biomaterials in surgical repair presents a significant opportunity for Chinese physicians to fill existing gaps. As large-scale clinical adoption has not yet been achieved either domestically or internationally, there are currently no established standards or guidelines for clinical practice.
Professor Chen Shuang pointed out, “Biomaterials can be described as the third generation of materials, which still require time and practical validation. Taking absorption time as an example, there is currently no standard for what constitutes the optimal absorption timeline. We need to provide a Chinese answer to this question, which also presents an opportunity for clinicians to make significant contributions.”
Zhao Bo, the founder of Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology Co., Ltd., has a clinical background and previously served as an Associate Chief Physician in the Department of General Surgery at Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University. With over ten years of experience in both clinical practice and basic research in abdominal surgery, he recognized regenerative repair as a key direction for surgical development and understood the significant importance of achieving import substitution and the domestication of medical devices. Since 2007, he has self-funded the research and development of extracellular matrix source materials for regenerative biomaterials.
Guided by the corporate value of “open innovation,” the Excellence in Surgery Special Fund, jointly established by Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology Co., Ltd. and the Wu Jieping Medical Foundation, integrates frontline clinicians with back-end product research and development. This approach breaks the vicious cycle of high R&D investment, difficult clinical promotion, and unaffordable costs for patients, enabling superior products to be applied in clinical practice more quickly and effectively.
Zhao Bo, founder of Beijing Biosis Healing Biological Technology Co., Ltd., also stated that the first phase of the Excellence in Surgery Special Fund will primarily focus on abdominal wall surgery, with future expansion into other surgical specialties to promote the modernization of surgical practice.