Biopharmaceuticals set to benefit from subsidies

Construction on Chinese biotechnology company BeiGene's second plant is completed in Huangpu district, while a third one is currently under construction. LI JIANFENG/FOR CHINA DAILY

Huangpu district in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong province, is aiming to forge a more competitive modern industrial system, as part of its efforts to achieve both environmental and economic benefits, according to local officials.

"We will promote industries to move up to the middle and high part of the global value chain and develop (Huangpu district) into a prominent example of high-quality economic development," said Yang Yuanshi, Party secretary at the Huangpu district development and reform bureau.

As planned, the district will focus on the development of four major emerging industrial chains during China's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), which are new-type displays, new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, integrated circuits and healthcare.

According to the district government, major steps are being taken to develop a core area for the integrated circuit and semiconductor chip industries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Centering on seven pillar industries, including new-generation information technology, new materials, green energy and biotechnology, Huangpu district is aiming to establish a modern industrial system valued at 1 trillion yuan ($152.83 billion).

In support of this aim, the district launched 10 supportive policies for the high-quality development of the bio-pharmaceutical industry on Tuesday, targeting breakthroughs in innovation, business environment, financial support and recruitment of professionals.

Based on the newly-introduced policies, individual project introduction can be granted with a subsidy of up to 500 million yuan, and a maximum of about 100 million yuan will be awarded to companies that develop new drugs. These subsidies rank among the best nationwide, according to the district government.

"We have initially formed industrial characteristics and comparative advantages in the fields of biopharmaceuticals, biotechnology and biomedicine. In the next step, we will continue to make efforts in spatial layout, platform construction and industrial ecology, to build a world-class innovative biomedical industry cluster," said He Lulu, deputy head of Huangpu district.

The (industrial cluster) plan will help the combination of the upper, middle and downstream industries of the biopharmaceutical industry, which is conducive to development and expansion, said Jiang Xiwen, a chief scientist from Daan Gene, a biomedical high-tech company of Sun Yat-sen University.

"I believe in the future, Huangpu district will become a world-class development center of the biopharmaceutical industry."

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