On June 6, the "R&D Without Borders · Sino Biopharmaceutical Sets Sail" International Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Development Forum was held at the Chia Tai Tianqing Global R&D Headquarters in Minhang District, Shanghai. As an important part of the 2026 Pujiang Innovation Forum Conference Season, the event consisted of the inauguration ceremony of the Chia Tai Tianqing Global R&D Headquarters, one main forum, and three sub-forums. It brought together authoritative experts, leading enterprises, representatives from research institutes, and investment and financing institutions to explore technological turning points, discuss industrial opportunities, and build an innovative ecosystem, injecting strong momentum into Shanghai's development as an international innovation hub. 

 

 

Shou Ziqi, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce, and President of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce; Wang Xiaohan, Executive Deputy Director of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee and Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Shanghai Municipal People's Government; Shen Weihua, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce; Luo Dajin, Director of the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission; Lu Fangzhou, Secretary of the CPC Minhang District Committee; Ma Jun, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS); Zhang Qiang, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE); Zeng Musheng, Academician of the CAS; Tse Ping, Senior Vice Chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group and Senior Vice Chairman of the Board of Sino Biopharmaceutical; Cheng Cheung Ling, Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Sino Biopharmaceutical; Theresa Tse, Chairwoman of the Board; Eric Tse, Chief Executive Officer; as well as relevant officials from the Hongqiao International Central Business District Management Committee, the Municipal Healthcare Security Administration, and the Shenkang Hospital Development Center; and scientists and entrepreneurs from the global biopharmaceutical field, including GlaxoSmithKline, Boehringer Ingelheim, and WuXi AppTec, attended the conference. 

 

Experts Discuss the Future of the Biopharmaceutical Industry, "R&D Without Borders" Helps Domestic Innovation Break Through

 

 

Biopharmaceuticals are one of Shanghai's three leading industries and one of its five trillion-yuan level industrial clusters. Focusing on how to further promote the high-quality development of the biopharmaceutical industry in Shanghai and across the country by concentrating on cutting-edge technologies and deepening original innovation, Shou Ziqi, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai CPPCC, Chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Industry and Commerce, and President of the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce, stated at the forum that they will further strengthen innovation sourcing, accelerate forward-looking layouts in fields such as AI-powered drug discovery, brain-computer interfaces, and cell and gene therapy, support major innovative theoretical research and the development of key underlying technologies, and focus on enhancing original innovation capabilities. At the same time, efforts will be made to cultivate leading technology enterprises, support 'chain-master' companies in better leveraging the agglomeration effect of the industrial chain, and promote leading enterprises in building a new technology development system that integrates R&D, transformation, and incubation. 

 

 

Minhang District is one of the two major development hubs for Shanghai's biopharmaceutical industry. With its unique geographical advantages and complete industrial support, it has attracted numerous pharmaceutical company headquarters, and the industrial agglomeration effect is becoming increasingly apparent. Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group, ranked ninth on the "Top 100 Chinese Pharmaceutical Companies" list, announced in 2023 that it would establish its global R&D headquarters here, and on June 6, 2026, it officially celebrated its full inauguration. 

 

 

As the organizer of the forum, Eric Tse, Chief Executive Officer of Sino Biopharmaceutical, Chairman of Chia Tai Tianqing, and Chairman of Beijing Tide Pharmaceutical, presented the "R&D Without Borders · Sino Biopharmaceutical Sets Sail" International Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Development Forum as a "welcome gift" to Shanghai. He stated that "without borders" means that human health knows no national boundaries, and pharmaceutical R&D should break down the barriers of region, race, and industry, starting from the common well-being of all humanity. This forum will bring together top experts, first-class scholars, and leaders from government and business, both domestically and internationally, to jointly create a new calling card for the innovative development of Shanghai's biopharmaceutical industry, and to build another important platform for promoting scientific and technological innovation and deepening international cooperation. 

 

 

Mike Crichton, President of International at GlaxoSmithKline, stated that China's biopharmaceutical innovation is making extraordinary progress, and Chinese companies, including Chia Tai Tianqing, have become globally competitive in terms of the speed, depth, and scale of innovation. Meanwhile, the healthcare needs of markets along the "Belt and Road" are growing rapidly. The supply-demand match of "innovation in China, demand across the globe" is becoming a significant opportunity for Chinese pharmaceutical innovation to go global. 

 

 

 

 

Zeng Musheng, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Deputy Director of Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, delivered a keynote speech on the "Molecular Basis and R&D Strategy for Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Vaccines", providing a feasible direction for conquering related diseases. Kang Xiaoyan, Chief Medical Officer of Sino Biopharmaceutical, and Qin Ying, Chief Scientist in the oncology field, delivered keynote reports on the latest trends in global biopharmaceutical R&D, and analyzed the progress and potential of domestic innovative drug R&D using Sino Biopharmaceutical and Chia Tai Tianqing as examples. 

 

 

 

Two themed roundtable forums on "The Globalization Future of China's Innovative Drugs" and "Prospects for Biopharmaceutical Expansion into Southeast Asia and Belt and Road Countries" delved into the most watched topics in the industry. Experts including Lu Bai, a world-renowned neuroscientist and Distinguished Professor at Fudan University; Zhang Yiming, Managing Director of CICC; Liu Kai, Head of ByteDance AI Pharma and CEO of ANEW Labs; Wu Chun, Managing Director and China Executive Partner at BCG; Chen Yaoshui, Executive President and Secretary-General of the Shanghai Chamber of Commerce for the Biopharmaceutical Industry; Li Zili, a Global Fellow and Board Member of the Drug Information Association (DIA); He Ruyi, President of the Shanghai Global Health Innovation Institute; and Chen Zhisheng, CEO of WuXi Biologics, engaged in intense discussions and proposed a series of inspiring viewpoints. 

 

Exploring International Multicenter Clinical Mutual Recognition, Shanghai Association for Biopharmaceutical Enterprises' International Development Established

 

In 2025, the total value of out-licensing deals for innovative drugs from China exceeded $130 billion, a record high. In the first quarter of this year, out-licensing deals amounted to about $60 billion, with the full year expected to surpass $150 billion. China has become a globally significant source of biopharmaceutical innovation. However, under the review system dominated by the US and European markets, Chinese innovative drugs still face many difficulties and pain points in "going global", such as "information asymmetry and difficult market access". In particular, the lack of mutual trust and recognition of clinical data and GMP inspections has become the biggest "stumbling block" for Chinese innovation to go global.

 

 

Against this backdrop, the Shanghai Association for Biopharmaceutical Enterprises' International Development (preparatory), initiated by the Shanghai Biopharmaceutical Technology Industry Promotion Center in conjunction with Sino Biopharmaceutical, was also announced on June 6. As the first professional social organization in China to focus on the international development of biopharmaceuticals, the association brings together an "all-star lineup" of industry leaders such as Hengrui Medicine, Innovent Biologics, CSPC Pharmaceutical Group, BeiGene, and Fosun Pharma. Based in Shanghai, it provides full-chain support for the high-quality "going global" of pharmaceutical companies, marking a new stage in the internationalization of China's biopharmaceutical industry, moving from "individual advances" to "group operations". 

 

In the view of Eric Tse, the rise of China's biopharmaceutical industry depends on the courage and synergy of "going global", and even more so on the support of an open and collaborative ecosystem. Over the past few years, he has repeatedly advocated at events such as the Davos World Economic Forum and the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum for the establishment of a "multicenter clinical mutual recognition system", using international multicenter clinical trials as a link and starting with the Asia-Pacific region and countries along the "Belt and Road". This would help more innovative Chinese drugs to be quickly launched in "Belt and Road" markets and achieve faster global coverage. 

 

With the establishment of the Shanghai Association for Biopharmaceutical Enterprises' International Development, this vision will gradually be realized. It is reported that the association will use two core mechanisms to solidly promote corporate internationalization: first, to create a "product whitelist" by selecting investigational and marketed products that are clinically urgently needed in the target market, have high patient demand, and show excellent domestic data and clear efficacy, forming a priority list for international recommendation; second, to create a "multicenter clinical hospital whitelist" by selecting top medical institutions in key disease areas such as tumor in both China and the target countries, to build a regional clinical collaboration network and provide solid support for rapid product launches. 

 

"China can rely on its demographic dividend of engineers and an increasing amount of original innovation to build our own multicenter clinical trial system and forge an internationalization path with Chinese characteristics."Eric Tse stated, "I believe the establishment of the association is a huge boost for the country, the people, and the industry". "We hope that with the support, encouragement, and policy guidance of the nation, through our collective efforts, we can go global together, step by step - from Southeast Asia, to the Middle East, to all the countries and regions along the Belt and Road - and ultimately allow patients all over the world to use China's original, high-quality medicines."

 

Building a Cross-Disciplinary Ecosystem Cooperation Platform, Creating a Biopharmaceutical Innovation Hub in the Yangtze River Delta

 

A series of other achievements were also reached at this forum. Zhongshan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Renji Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center announced the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership with Sino Biopharmaceutical. They will fully leverage the advantages of top-tier Grade A Tertiary hospitals in clinical practice, research, and talent, deeply integrate corporate innovation resources, promote the collaborative development of medicine, research, and industry, and jointly support the high-quality development of Shanghai's healthcare services and biopharmaceutical industry. 

 

 

With the official inauguration of the Chia Tai Tianqing Global R&D Headquarters, Eric Tse also announced on the same day that, leveraging the geographical and industrial advantages of Minhang's South Hongqiao area, an interdisciplinary and cross-industry innovation incubation park will be built. It will radiate across the Yangtze River Delta, drive upstream and downstream industries, and create a biopharmaceutical innovation hub in the Yangtze River Delta. 

 

The park will leverage Shanghai's geographical advantages to attract top talent and build a hub for biopharmaceutical talent. It will connect key upstream and downstream links, jointly build proof-of-concept centers with universities, research institutes, and CXO companies to provide "end-to-end" support for innovative projects from process development to commercial production. It will also break down industry barriers, embrace cutting-edge technologies such as AI, big data, and new materials to achieve cross-disciplinary integrated innovation. By establishing an innovation ecosystem fund, it will precisely empower promising teams and technologies, forming a vibrant "corporate population". 

 

During the event, two cutting-edge academic sub-forums in the field of tumor were also held simultaneously: the 8th Annual Anti-Angiogenesis Conference and Oncology Frontier Innovation Forum, and the "R&D Without Borders · Tianqing Sets Sail" Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment Leadership Forum. Academicians including Ma Jun (CAS), Zhang Qiang (CAE), and Zeng Musheng (CAS), along with nearly a thousand clinical experts and frontline doctors from across the country, jointly explored the breakthrough applications of cutting-edge therapies, focusing on tackling source innovation and transforming research achievements. 

 

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