Innovation Empowers the Future: Highlights from the 14th China (Taizhou) International Medical Expo
Editor’s Note: This article is from Taizhou Daily, by reporter Zhu Shiping. Reposted with permission by VCBeat.
From October 19 to 22, the 14th China (Taizhou) International Pharmaceutical Expo was held, bringing together more than 600 pharmaceutical companies from 16 countries and regions, eight academicians of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and over 3,500 industry elites from home and abroad for this golden autumn gathering.
This is a premier pharmaceutical industry gathering that brings together high-end resources to explore future development, and also serves as a showcase for Taizhou to demonstrate its strength in the big health industry and enhance the city brand of “Famous City of Health.”
As Zhu Lifan, Secretary of the Taizhou Municipal Party Committee, stated, Taizhou has now become an industrial city safeguarding health, an innovative city leading health advancement, and a happy city where people enjoy well-being. Embarking on a new journey, Taizhou will adhere to the principles of driving urban development through comprehensive industrial chain growth, empowering industries with innovation-led research, and fostering talent to co-create the future. The city is accelerating its efforts to build a globally renowned pharmaceutical hub, aiming to rank first in China and gain international recognition, while striving to create a “Taizhou Model” for the Healthy China initiative.
Embracing profound insights, gathering technological resources, and connecting with industry elites... At this moment, Taizhou has captured the attention of the world.
The annual Medical Expo always serves as a window for showcasing cutting-edge global medical technologies, and this year was no exception. More than 600 participating companies unveiled their “hardcore” products, with over 500 invention patents presented on-site, offering an eye-opening experience.
Gene sequencing for every individual can be performed using saliva or blood samples, with pathogen identification completed within 3 to 5 hours; brain-hand interaction enables flexible control of robotic arms even in patients with hemiplegia; and an intelligent Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnostic system capable of providing consultations and prescribing medications without the need for a physician...
The 14th Medical Expo continues to uphold its “high-end and cutting-edge” characteristics, with constantly elevated organizational standards and an increasingly prominent brand effect. “Taizhou is a pilot city for the clustered development of the big health industry within the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Its pharmaceutical production and sales scale ranks among the top in China. With China Medical City as the key sector and supported by leading enterprises, the development pattern of the big health industry has taken shape, and its influence and driving force continue to expand,” said Sun Xianze, Chairman of the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association, at the opening ceremony of this year’s Medical Expo.
A Gathering of Distinguished Guests, Sparking Intellectual Brilliance. This Medical Expo brought together experts and scholars from home and abroad, hosting 19 thematic events including the 2023 China Pharmaceutical Summit, the 4th China Precision Medicine Summit, and the 6th China International Biopharmaceutical Conference. These events covered key sectors of the broader health industry, such as biological products, medical devices, foods for special medical purposes, and healthcare services, converging forward-looking insights and high-end resources.
“We came to the conference to ‘learn from the best,’ identify the future direction of the industry, and help our company seize better development opportunities during its transformation and upgrading. This trip has been highly rewarding and well worth the effort,” said Shi Wenda, R&D Director at Bolaide Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
At the Medical Expo, numerous companies showcased their flagship products, with local enterprises from Taizhou delivering standout performances.
Yingke Biopharma exhibited its Propofol Medium- and Long-Chain Triglyceride Emulsion for Injection, the first domestic product to pass the consistency evaluation and be included in the fourth batch of China’s National Centralized Drug Procurement. Zhonghui Yuantong showcased its next-generation quadrivalent influenza virus subunit vaccine, a pioneering Class 1 innovative drug in China. Compared with second-generation conventional split-virion influenza vaccines, this vaccine offers superior safety and protective efficacy. Recbio Biotechnology’s innovative adjuvant can modulate vaccine immune responses across four dimensions: type, intensity, breadth, and durability. The company is capable of developing and achieving large-scale production for all types of novel adjuvants currently approved for human vaccines worldwide.
A series of products featuring proprietary technologies have attracted wave after wave of clients seeking collaboration.
The pharmaceutical supply chain is particularly crucial to the development of pharmaceutical enterprises, serving as a key indicator of their competitiveness. At this year’s Medical Expo, Yangtze River Pharmaceutical Group drew special attention by exhibiting alongside more than 200 long-term supplier partners.
Canaan Technology Directly Brought Aluminum-Plastic Blister Packaging Machines to the Medical Expo Site, (Continued on Page 03)
(Continued from Page 01) The fully transparent design allows for a clear view of the entire production process. “Eighty percent of pharmaceutical companies in Taizhou use the machines we produce, and what we are showcasing this time is our latest product,” said Pan Beibing, Head of the Sales Department. Within less than a day of the event, multiple pharmaceutical companies proactively approached us for discussions, with several reaching preliminary cooperation intentions.
Wang Wei, Manager of the Technical Department at Nanjing Jinwei Biological Co., Ltd., stated, “During last year’s Medical Expo, we entered into a long-term cooperation agreement with Taizhou Biolab Co., Ltd. regarding biological bulk solution preparation systems. This year, we have specially brought our latest bioreactor products and are offering trial services to attendees, with the aim of expanding our market presence and boosting sales.”
A major highlight of Taizhou’s efforts to promote innovative development in the big health industry is its collaboration with international organizations, multinational corporations, and universities and research institutes to establish R&D centers and production bases.
At the opening ceremony of this Medical Expo, China Medical City signed agreements with the Shanghai Veterinary Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences to jointly establish a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory, and with Huaxi Haiqi to jointly build a Non-clinical Drug Research Center.
Aligning the innovation chain with the industrial chain, China Medical City has established major innovation platforms such as the Guotai Technology Innovation Center for Veterinary Biological Products (Taizhou) and the Institute of Biomedical Innovation of the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, at China Medical City. It has also collaborated with 12 renowned universities and research institutions to build 21 technical platforms, including a Vaccine Engineering Center and a Drug Safety Evaluation Center.
At the Medical Expo, good news continued to pour in: the iFlytek Medical Artificial Intelligence Research Institute and the China Medical City Drug Supervision and Service Complex were unveiled, the Biopharmaceutical Industry Supply Chain Alliance was established, and the official launch of the “National Taizhou Cohort Study Center” was initiated. With platform development, financial support, industrial clustering, and talent resources, the “Taizhou Model” for innovative development in the big health industry is becoming increasingly clear.
“We will continuously enrich the developmental connotation of ‘China Medical City is Taizhou, and Taizhou is China Medical City,’ further build a service platform with comprehensive functions, provide ‘full-chain’ services, and enable enterprises to achieve the fastest returns with minimal investment and in the shortest time,” said Ye Donghua, Deputy Mayor, Secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Medical High-Tech Zone, and Secretary of the Gaogang District Committee.
Project implementation speaks volumes. At the centralized signing ceremony for projects in China Medical City held on the 21st, 20 major projects were launched, including Jiangsu Yannuo Pharmaceutical Technology’s high-end formulations, Huanuotai’s shingles vaccine, and Runfang Bio’s animal-derived pharmaceuticals, with a total investment of approximately RMB 5.1 billion.
Innovation Empowers the Future: The Medical Expo Witnesses the Development of Taizhou’s Landmark Industries and Unlocks Infinite Possibilities for the City.