Wuxi conference focuses on pharmaceutical innovation

The 2021 AstraZeneca China Ecosystem Annual Meeting takes place in Wuxi on April 23. [Photo provided to wndonline.cn]

The opening ceremony of the 2021 AstraZeneca China Ecosystem Annual Meeting was held in Wuxi National Hi-tech District (WND) on April 23. The conference, focusing on innovation in the pharmaceutical industry, was attended by officials, academics, industry representatives, researchers, clinicians, and investors.

In addition to the opening ceremony, 12 sub-forums were held during the event, covering issues such as the management of tumors and chronic diseases, the development of organizations, and staff training. Participants shared their achievements in innovation and signed several agreements.

Wuxi Mayor Du Xiaogang delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the 2021 AstraZeneca China Ecosystem Annual Meeting in Wuxi on April 23. [Photo provided to wndonline.cn]

Wuxi Mayor Du Xiaogang spoke highly of AstraZeneca's contribution to Wuxi's biomedical industry and economic development at the meeting. "The Wuxi government will, as always, create the best business environment and offer the most supportive services to companies, including AstraZeneca," he said.

Leon Wang, executive vice-president of AstraZeneca, delivers a keynote speech on the prospects of the biomedical industry. [Photo provided to wndonline.cn]

Leon Wang, executive vice-president, international and China president of AstraZeneca, also stressed that AstraZeneca will focus more on research and innovation, while at the same time cultivating new business models and new methods of resource allocation for the pharmaceutical industry, on the basis of integrated diagnosis and treatment.

During the meeting, 11 companies signed contracts to set up operations in the Wuxi International Life-Science Innovation Campus (I•Campus) built by the Wuxi municipal government, Xinwu district government and AstraZeneca. In the past two years, I•Campus has incubated more than 30 companies. According to its second-phase plan, I•Campus aims to be a modern biomedical industrial park and to cultivate five listed companies within five years.

WND, which is at the forefront of Wuxi's biomedical industry, is now home to 230 biomedical companies, with an industrial scale of 62.5 billion yuan ($9.6 billion), accounting for 55 percent of the city's total scale. Since the establishment of the Business Innovation Center in 2017, AstraZeneca has provided innovation support to more than 300 partners.