A hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship, Shanghai's Zhangjiang brings together cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and integrated circuits, and attracts high-end scientific and creative talents from both China and abroad. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship, Shanghai's Zhangjiang brings together cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and integrated circuits, and attracts high-end scientific and creative talents from both China and abroad.

In the 20-square-meter lab of CommBio Therapeutics, a high-tech enterprise specializing in bacterial vector gene therapy for new drug development, Peter Atadja, chief scientific officer of the company, is conducting research. The company settled in Zhangjiang Pharmaceutical Valley in 2019.

The key research approach of CommBio Therapeutics is to regulate gut immunity, metabolism and disease signals through methods such as gut delivery of genetically engineered bacteria.

Using gene editing methods such as CRISPR-Cas9, they integrate potential disease treatment genes into specific locations in the bacterial chromosome, develop genetically engineered bacteria and turn them into active biopharmaceuticals.

In 2009, Atadja first set foot in Zhangjiang and became a member of the research team in Novartis. At that time, Zhangjiang was home to only large multinational pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis and Roche.

As an important founding member of a new drug development company, Atadja witnessed the transformation of this fertile ground for scientific innovation from vitality to prosperity.

"The entrepreneurial environment in Zhangjiang is becoming more favorable," he said, adding Zhangjiang offers a comfortable living environment that allows him to focus more on scientific research.

Moreover, Zhangjiang's collaboration with numerous academic institutions such as the Zhangjiang Fudan International Innovation Center, ShanghaiTech University and the National Shanghai Biomedical Science and Technology Industrial Base greatly promotes research and development innovation.

"I think Zhangjiang has a unique charm and is a great place for work and life," he said. "In addition to research in the laboratory, I love the food in Zhangjiang. When I was in the United States, just thinking about Chinese cuisine made me want to come back immediately."