Meeting focuses on biomedical innovation, industry development

Big themes and hot-button issues took center stage at the third Hefei Biomedical Innovation and Industry Conference, which was held in Hefei, capital city of East China's Anhui province on Sept 4-6, under the support of GUiTEK Service Platform.

The event brought together academicians from Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), leading scholars, corporate executives and investors to discuss pathways for the future development of the sector.

More than 10 forums were held during the conference, fostering academic exchanges and industrial collaboration.

Over 100 experts in the biomedical innovation industry were invited to engage in discussions on areas such as cell and gene therapy, immune responses and immunotherapy, AI-enabled drug developments, and peptide drug innovation.

Tian Zhigang, an academician of the CAE and chief scientist at the Institute of Health and Medicine of Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, said that Anhui was committed to driving industrial advancements through technological innovation.

Tian added that the biomedical industry had become a prominent emerging strategic industry in the region.

Tian Zhigang delivers a speech at the conference. [Photo/GUi]

Tian expressed hope that the conference would serve as a catalyst to gather collective efforts from various sectors in order to create a more open, inclusive and vibrant ecosystem for biomedical innovation.

Feng Lan, vice-chairperson of the China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association, noted that big progress had been made after a decade of development.

During that time, China's pharmaceutical innovation had achieved significant results, with original drugs catching up to or even surpassing international levels in many fields.

Feng called on government authorities to introduce more specific and robust policies to boost the innovation capabilities of business enterprises and international cooperation, promoting the overall high-quality development of the biomedical industry.

Hefei has already attracted over 1,000 biomedical companies. It's produced a number of innovative drugs and medical devices with a revenue approaching 100 billion yuan ($14 billion) throughout the industrial supply chain.

Taking this conference as an opportunity, the city will continue to establish itself as a globally influential pioneer zone for biomedical industry innovation.

A forum discusses AI-enabled drug developments. [Photo/GUi]