Hangzhou Medicine Port Accelerates Deep Integration of Scientific and Industrial Innovation, Leveraging AI to Expedite New Drug Development

Original Title: Hangzhou Medicine Port Boosts Deep Integration of Science and Industry Innovation with AI, Accelerating New Drug Development

"Two innovative drugs for the treatment of liver cancer and kidney cancer have entered phase II clinical trials, getting closer to market launch!" Standing in front of the modern office building of Hangzhou Medicinal Port in Qiantang District, Hangzhou, Zhao Xiaobin, chairman of HaiChuang Bio, expressed with confidence, "We are working with over 30 enterprise platforms to strengthen the nucleic acid drug industry, and the development here is always one step ahead."

Zhao Xiaobin's "one step ahead" comes from the innovative momentum emerging in Qiantang District. In the first three quarters of this year, Qiantang's technology transaction volume increased by 59.9% year-on-year, ranking first in Hangzhou. Particularly, Hangzhou Medicinal Port has built an innovative ecosystem with 1.3 million square meters of industrial accelerators, 20 billion yuan in funds, and 35,000 talents. From January to October this year, 132 innovative drugs have entered clinical trials, ranking first in the province.

In Yuan Wei's notebook, the deputy director of Hangzhou Medicine Port Management Office, the listing trajectory of a class of innovative drugs is recorded: Ecnoglutide Injection developed by Hangzhou Sciwind Biosciences, applicable for blood sugar reduction and weight loss, is expected to be approved by the end of 2025 at the earliest; Fizotuximab Injection from I-Mab Biopharma (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., used to treat multiple myeloma, is expected to be approved in 2026… Currently, there are already five class one innovative drugs in Hangzhou Medicine Port entering the registration approval process.

How does Hangzhou Medicinal Port, at the "age of 8," achieve a "curve overtaking"? The speed of innovation comes from the warmth of service: On a small scale, it provides professional services and facilities such as an animal experiment center, and has established clinical cooperation with six Class A tertiary hospitals in the province; on a larger scale, the biomedical and high-end device industry funds that have been implemented and managed have helped companies raise 3.2 billion yuan in financing. "Our choice of Medicinal Port is based on the ecosystem here," said Zang Jingwu, founder of I-Mab Biopharma (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd., who has worked in the United States for many years. The company has two innovative drugs about to hit the market.

The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party proposed to strengthen original innovation and the tackling of key core technologies, promoting the deep integration of scientific and industrial innovation. In Hangzhou Medicine Port, this statement has come to life in a more vivid reality. Walking into MindRank Ltd., you won't see the bottles and jars of traditional laboratories filled with drugs and formulations; instead, high-speed computing devices and data flowing across screens take their place as engineers use AI to "develop pharmaceuticals." "With the help of AI technology, we accurately screen out molecules that may solve certain human diseases. This process used to take two to five years but now can be completed in just eight months," said Niu Zhangming, founder of MindRank. In May this year, the company’s first AI-assisted oral small molecule drug completed Phase II clinical trials and will provide effective treatment for weight loss and more.

At present, multiple "AI + pharmaceuticals" large-scale application models in Qiantang District are being rapidly deployed. "To promote the integration of scientific and industrial innovation, it is crucial to strengthen the leading role of enterprises in innovation," said a relevant official from the Qiantang District Committee. Moving forward, Qiantang will establish a partnership cooperation mechanism involving "universities + platforms + enterprises + industry chains," aiming to achieve a breakthrough of 100 billion yuan in the scale of the biopharmaceuticals industry by 2028. (Reporter Liu Jian, Correspondents Zhang Huiqing, Mi Liping)