2018 Shenzhen International BT Leaders Summit: A Global Gathering for Precision Medicine Innovation

Modern biotechnology is gradually entering the stage of large-scale industrialization, with the global bioeconomy developing rapidly. As a pillar of the bioeconomy, industrial biotechnology is a key focus area of national strategic emerging industries.

On the morning of September 20, VCBeat (WeChat official account: vcbeat) learned that the 2018 Shenzhen International BT Leader Summit and Bio/Life Health Industry Exhibition officially opened in the Meihua Hall on the 5th floor of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. The opening ceremony was moderated by Wu You, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government. Dignitaries attending the ceremony included Jin Xiaotao, former Vice Director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission and President of the Chinese Society for Health Informatics and Medical Big Data; Ai Xuefeng, Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Municipality; Sun Yanrong, Deputy Director of the China National Center for Biotechnology Development under the Ministry of Science and Technology; and Wang Li, Director of the International Department of the China Chamber of International Commerce, among others.

Under the urgent requirements of the national goal to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, building a "Healthy China" has been elevated to a national strategy and included in the Outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development. "Precision medicine" has also been listed as a major strategic emerging industry.

The 2018 Shenzhen International BT Leaders Summit, themed “Leading Precision Medicine, Sharing a Healthy Ecosystem,” strives to create the most prestigious event in China’s biopharmaceutical sector, featuring two keynote speeches, one high-level dialogue, four specialized forums, and five concurrent events.

The summit invited nearly 100 distinguished guests, including leaders from national ministries and commissions, academicians from China and abroad, top-tier scientists, frontline R&D professionals, prominent investors, and renowned entrepreneurs. Among them were more than 10 international attendees, over 20 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering as well as foreign academies, and numerous heads of world-leading biopharmaceutical companies. The event aimed to interpret the latest global market trends and cutting-edge technological developments in the biopharmaceutical industry, establish a high-end, forward-looking, open, and comprehensive platform for exchange, and showcase the renewed vitality of the biopharmaceutical sector, thereby promoting the advancement of global pharmaceutical and health sciences, technology, and industrial development.

Hu Shengshou, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, director of the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, and president of Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, and Wayne Hendrickson, a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and professor at Columbia University, delivered keynote addresses titled “Smart Healthcare: So Close, Yet So Far” and “Structural Basis of Channel Activity Controlling Muscle Contraction,” respectively. They introduced cutting-edge professional topics, including the development of the smart healthcare industry chain and the structural basis of human muscle contraction.

The high-level dialogue, centered on the theme of “Innovative Development and Industrial Prospects of Precision Medicine,” was moderated by Professor Ziwai Huang, Executive Dean of the Chehanovo Institute for Precision and Regenerative Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen. Distinguished guests—including Wayne A. Hendrickson, Member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences; Wayne Patterson, President of Admedus Vaccines Australia; Professor Sarah Newton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Monash University; Academician Lihe Zhang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Dr. Ling Chen, Executive Deputy Director of the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease; and Dan Chen, Co-CEO of China Equity Group—elaborated on frontier trends in precision medicine and translational medicine, and discussed hot topics in academic-industrial collaboration and exchange within the biopharmaceutical sector.

In addition, the summit featured four specialized forums and five concurrent supporting events, offering a diverse and engaging program. The four specialized forums were: the China Summit on High-End Biomedical Engineering; the Forum on Innovative Technologies and Applications of Healthcare Big Data, held in conjunction with the Finals and Award Ceremony of the 1st Shenzhen International Competition for Innovative Applications of Healthcare Big Data; the Forum on Technological Development and Standardization of Innovative Drugs; and the Forum on Biopharmaceuticals and Financial Innovation. These forums focused on four key areas: high-end biomedical engineering, innovative drugs, healthcare big data, and the capital ecosystem of the pharmaceutical industry.

Five concurrent side events were also held, including the 2018 Shenzhen Pingshan International Summit on Innovative Development of the Biopharmaceutical Industry, the 2018 Shenzhen-Jena High-Level Forum on Stress Response and Diseases, the Forum on Artificial Intelligence Leading the Healthcare Revolution, the High-Level Forum on the Greater Bay Area Biopharmaceutical Industry Translation Platform, and the 2018 International Summit on Biotherapy. These events covered various topics such as biopharmaceutical innovation, stress response and disease research, and artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, exciting events such as the Greater Bay Area Biotech Innovation and Development Summit, the Shenzhen International Biovalley Promotion Conference, the Guangdong Province Medical Device Registrant System Pilot Program Briefing, and the Tumor Immunotherapy Salon were also held concurrently.

The 2018 Shenzhen International Bio/Life Health Industry Exhibition, held concurrently with the 2018 Shenzhen International BT Leaders Summit, took place in Hall 2 of the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center, covering an exhibition area of 15,000 square meters.

The exhibition featured five major zones: Life Information and Biological Innovation Technologies, Biomedical Engineering, Quality Services for Life and Health, Agriculture and Biological Breeding, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Urban Agglomeration and International Section. It attracted numerous renowned biotechnology companies, including the China National GeneBank, BGI Group, Hybio Pharmaceutical, and Zhongke Future.

Furthermore, this edition of the Bio-Exhibition featured more than ten forums to facilitate project exchanges and advance the conversion of cooperation negotiations, thereby establishing a professional platform integrating exhibition, investment, incubation, promotion, and trading.

The current BT Leaders Summit is the 5th Shenzhen International BT Leaders Summit. Over the years, the summit has become the most prestigious event in China’s biotechnology and life health sectors, garnering significant attention both domestically and internationally. The 2018 Shenzhen International BT Leaders Summit arrived as scheduled, further promoting and accelerating the rapid development of the biopharmaceutical industry in Shenzhen and across China through keynote addresses by leading experts, intellectual exchanges among authoritative representatives, practical cooperation, and resource matching. Together, these efforts contribute to enhancing public health and well-being and advancing the Healthy China initiative.