Greater Bay Area Unveils Enhanced TCM Globalization Strategy and Emerges as a Global AI-Driven Biopharma Hub

At the briefing on the “Vibrant China Research Tour” Guangdong Stop thematic interview campaign in 2026, Tang Lida, Deputy Dean of the Beijing Future Pharmaceutical Industry Chain Research Institute, elaborated on the development pathway for the biomedical industry in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. He stated that the GBA will deepen the integrated development of AI and the entire biomedical industry chain, promote inclusive AI-driven pharmaceutical manufacturing, and establish a GBA model as a global benchmark for AI-enabled biomedical industries.

 

It is reported that the AI-driven pharmaceutical industry in the Greater Bay Area has formed a mature dual-core pattern driven by Shenzhen and Guangzhou, demonstrating robust industrial strength. Notably, XtalPi covers the entire chain of new drug innovation with its AI technology and boasts extensive collaborative resources across China. Meanwhile, Insilico Medicine, based in Hong Kong, has advanced multiple AI-discovered innovative drugs into clinical trial stages and established deep collaborations with numerous multinational corporations, fully highlighting the Greater Bay Area’s AI biotechnologyPharmaceuticals's technological innovation advantages.

 

Tang Lida pointed out that, as a key emerging pillar industry prioritized in the national “15th Five-Year Plan,” the biopharmaceutical sector boasts a solid foundation and distinct advantages in the Greater Bay Area, with immense potential for future development. He proposed four core development initiatives. First, leveraging Hong Kong’s membership in the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S), to advance internationalized regulation across the entire drug lifecycle, establish a market-oriented value assessment system for innovative drugs, promote international mutual recognition of regulatory data for Chinese pharmaceutical companies, and attract high-quality pharmaceutical innovation achievements from across China to land and undergo commercialization in the region. Second, continuously deepen the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with the entire biopharmaceutical industry chain, and build a major public service platform for AI-driven drug research and development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, thereby reducing small and medium-sizedEnterpriseapplication costs of technology, popularizing the AI drug discovery model. Third, upgrade the Greater Bay Area model for the internationalization of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to version 2.0, promote mutual recognition of TCM product registrations in ASEAN countries, Portuguese-speaking countries, and markets along the “Belt and Road,” facilitating the transition of TCM from simple export to deep integration into the global market. Fourth, deepen regulatory coordination and data interoperability among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, expand the variety of cross-border drugs and medical devices permitted for use, broaden the coverage of implementing medical institutions, advance mutual recognition of real-world data in pharmaceuticals, and enable medications approved in Hong Kong and MacaoPharmaceuticalsSynchronized market access and streamlined implementation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Mainland China).