Banan Attracts Global Talent, Biotech Shapes the Future: The 3rd Chongqing International Life Sciences Gaofeng Lake Talent Summit Held in Banan
On December 13, the 3rd Chongqing International Life Science Gaofenghu Talent Summit was grandly held at Chongqing International Bio City in Banan District. Yang Huanming, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences; Zheng Yuguo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Jiang Jianxin, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering; and Qu Qian, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress, attended the summit. Gao Fu, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chairman of the Chinese Society for Biotechnology, delivered a video address. More than 100 participants, including representatives from renowned pharmaceutical companies, universities, and investment institutions both within and outside Chongqing, as well as elite talents in the biopharmaceutical sector, attended the event. Centered on the theme “Gathering Talents in Banan, Creating a Biological Future,” attending academicians and experts engaged in lively discussions on attracting top-tier talent in life sciences and technology, building a highland for the life and health industry, and empowering the development of a modern new Chongqing.
The biopharmaceutical industry is a strategic emerging industry strongly supported by the state. The Chongqing Manufacturing High-Quality Development Conference clarified that the biopharmaceutical industry is an important component of the city’s “33618” modern manufacturing cluster system.
Chongqing International Bio City is the only “National Strategic Emerging Industry Cluster” and “Key Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park” in Chongqing Municipality. It serves as the core (“1”) of the city’s “1+5+N” biopharmaceutical industry layout system, providing fundamental support to drive the development of the municipal biopharmaceutical sector.
To drive high-quality industrial development, innovation serves as the primary driving force, while talent acts as the fundamental support. Chongqing International Bio City has established a technological innovation system centered on the Chongqing International Institute of Immunology, featuring a “1 Institute, 5 Centers, and 10 Platforms” framework. This initiative has created a leading-edge platform in western China for attracting, nurturing, and leveraging top-tier talent, thereby pooling intellectual resources and empowering industrial growth with momentum and capability.
This November, Professor Wu Yuzhang, Chief Scientist at the Chongqing International Institute of Immunology, was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. The institute launched 18 original research projects, published 31 original papers in internationally renowned journals such as Cell, Nature Communications, and Cancer Cell, and submitted 10 applications for national (provincial/ministerial) research grants.
At the summit, Chongqing International Institute of Immunology and Meilaide Biology signed agreements to recruit six PhD holders. Currently, Chongqing International Bio City has gathered more than 5,000 talents from home and abroad, including nearly 200 full-time and flexibly introduced doctoral graduates. It has cultivated over 50 project teams, established one national-level postdoctoral research workstation, one Chongqing municipal postdoctoral research workstation, one Chongqing Haizhi Workstation, and five “Chongqing Talents Innovation and Entrepreneurship Demonstration Teams.” The city has engaged in industrial consulting and scientific research collaboration with more than 20 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, laying a solid intellectual foundation for driving and leading the high-quality development of the biopharmaceutical industry across the municipality.
Signing Ceremony for the Introduction of High-End Talent
A robust innovation ecosystem continuously generates cutting-edge achievements, enabling Chongqing International Bio City to maintain its leading position in innovative outcomes across the municipality. There are currently 53 innovative drugs under development, with 23 having entered clinical trials and 9 in Phase III clinical trials. Notably, all four Class 1 new drugs in Phase III clinical trials in the municipality are located at Chongqing International Bio City. Numerous blockbuster star products have filled gaps both nationally and within the municipality, positioning Chongqing among the national leaders in high-end biologics, including vaccines, antibodies, insulin, and peptide drugs.
“Ban’an will firmly uphold the concept that ‘strong talent drives strong innovation, and thriving talent fuels thriving development.’ We will improve the ‘one-stop’ mechanism for full-cycle services supporting talent-led innovation and entrepreneurship, optimize policies and service guarantees for attracting, nurturing, retaining, and utilizing talent, and strive to create a talent ecosystem that delights those nearby and attracts those from afar, thereby providing more robust talent support for the construction of a modern new Ban’an,” said He Yousheng, Secretary of the Ban’an District Committee, in his address.
At the summit, Academician Yang Huanming of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Academician Zheng Yuguo of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, Ye Fei, President of the Chinese Society for Biomedical Sciences in France, and Zhang Hongxiang, Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Biotechnology, delivered keynote speeches. They shared cutting-edge technologies, the latest scientific and technological trends, and developments in the vaccine industry within their respective fields, offering valuable insights to advance the development of Chongqing’s life and health industry.
The summit hosted the inauguration ceremony for the “Science and Technology Innovation China” Vaccine Industry Consortium. Comprising renowned enterprises from the upstream and downstream segments of China’s vaccine industry, as well as universities and research institutes, the consortium focuses on integrating resources from industry, academia, research, finance, and application sectors. It aims to conduct joint research on major challenges and key technologies, overcome technical bottlenecks, enhance the overall R&D and manufacturing capabilities of its members in the vaccine field, and strengthen the core competitiveness of China’s vaccine industry. During the ceremony, plaques were awarded to the first batch of consortium member units.
“Science and Technology Innovation China” Vaccine Industry Consortium Launch Ceremony
Leveraging the summit as a platform, Chongqing International Bio City actively promoted the strategy of “using the summit to build a stage for investment promotion,” attracting nearly 50 high-quality domestic and international enterprises and investment institutions. Seven projects were signed, including the Western Headquarters of Fosun Xingmai Artificial Intelligence, the Pilot Scale-up and Industrialization Platform for Huasong Biological’s Innovative Vaccines, the Chongqing Clinical Research Center, the International Medical Translation Center for Gut Microecology, the industrialization of intelligent monitoring technology for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) under the Municipal Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Systems and Intelligent Sensing, and the SPD Supply Chain Sales Center of Chongqing Pharmaceutical Basheng.
Since the beginning of this year, Chongqing International Bio City has successively hosted major investment promotion and matchmaking events, including the 30th China Medical Equipment Conference and the China (Western) Beauty Industry Sci-Tech Innovation Conference. It has signed agreements for 15 projects to be included in its project pipeline, with a total contracted investment of RMB 14.6 billion, maintaining the highest contracted value in the district. Notably, Haoyuan Chemexpress will establish Chongqing’s first CDMO platform for ADC (Antibody-Drug Conjugate) services in the Bio City; Tangyi Group will build a one-stop digital twin flexible cell intelligent manufacturing CDMO/CMO platform, helping Banan District seize new opportunities in the digital economy, capture emerging markets in digital healthcare, and inject new momentum into the city’s “Starry Sky” initiative.
With the establishment of a batch of industry-leading, city-unique “pinnacle” projects, Chongqing International Bio City has become the biological industrial park with the highest industrial agglomeration, best projects, and fastest development in the city, driving Chongqing’s biomedical industry cluster toward high-end development and rapidly establishing a leading advantage in western China.
“Banan will continuously optimize its talent ecosystem, deeply advance the ‘New Medical Sciences Excellence Talent Aggregation Plan,’ break with convention to open wide the path for recruiting worthy individuals, and fully support talent by facilitating connections and building pathways. We aim to engage in a mutually beneficial partnership with outstanding professionals from home and abroad, working hand in hand to write a new chapter in Banan’s high-quality development,” stated Jia Hui, District Mayor of Banan District.
As a demonstration park for industrial cooperation between the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin Cities, Chongqing International Bio City proactively promotes the coordinated development of the biopharmaceutical industry in the region. Working together with peer parks such as Chengdu Tianfu International Bio City and Chengdu Medical City, it is driving deeper and more substantive industrial collaboration between the two cities.
The summit invited relevant leaders from Wenjiang District, Chengdu, and representatives of biopharmaceutical companies to attend, and held the plaque-awarding ceremony for the Chengdu Medical City GLP Preclinical Research (Banan) Center and the Chengdu Medical City GCP Clinical Research (Banan) Center.
Chengdu-Chongqing Twin City Economic Circle: Banan-Wenjiang Cooperation GLP and GCP Accreditation Ceremony
Leveraging their respective competitive strengths, the two regions have jointly advanced R&D and manufacturing capabilities by establishing five enclave-style platforms, including the Chongqing International Bio City GCP (Wenjiang) Center and the Chengdu Medical City GLP (Banan) Center. These initiatives enable the sharing of preclinical and clinical research resources and foster collaborative development of an enclave-based “industrial chain.”
The two regions have actively promoted policy sharing, enabling the cross-regional redemption of innovation vouchers for drug R&D. Chongqing-based enterprises in the Chongqing International Bio City, including Baiya Co., Ltd., Liujiang Pharmaceutical, and Xingtaihao, have established R&D and supply chain collaborations with over 100 companies in Chengdu. The total value of these collaborations exceeds RMB 500 million, with coordinated export trade volume surpassing RMB 200 million, jointly fostering an interconnected “industrial cluster.”
Meanwhile, entities such as Bowei Biologics and the Chongqing International Institute of Immunology, located in Chongqing International Bio City, have partnered with 10 institutions, including West China Hospital of Sichuan University, to conduct clinical trials. Companies like Meilaide Biologics and Duchuang Pharmaceutical have provided R&D services to Chengdu-based enterprises, facilitating over 20 product incubation collaborations. Through platforms such as the Banan–Wenjiang Biopharmaceutical Collaboration Summit and the Chengdu-Chongqing Biopharmaceutical Talent University-Local Government Alliance, both sides have introduced more than 50 professional talents, working together to refine an integrated “innovation ecosystem.”
The Future Elites Sci-Tech Innovation Salon at Gaofeng Lake was also held during the summit. More than 30 participants, including representatives from biopharmaceutical companies and young scientific and technological talents, gathered at the Gaofeng Lake Conference Center in Chongqing International Bio City. They shared insights and exchanged views on topics such as the growth and development of sci-tech talent, research fields and key projects, and the translation of innovation and entrepreneurship achievements. Additionally, they engaged in brainstorming sessions on promoting resource sharing, establishing cooperation pathways, and improving commercialization channels.
“Banan District will continue to deepen exchanges and cooperation with Wenjiang District in the attraction and cultivation of talent, leveraging their respective platform advantages to jointly attract and gather top-tier industrial talent from both domestic and international sources, and collaboratively build a highland for life and health talent in western China,” stated Chen Xiao, Member of the Standing Committee of the Banan District Committee of the Communist Party of China and Head of the Organization Department.