A 2020-35 action plan to foster a biomedicine industrial cluster producing more than 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) in medical drugs was released by the Zhuhai Industry & Information Technology Bureau on Aug 28.

Accordingly, Zhuhai will have three or more 5-billion-yuan ($732-million) enterprises, develop three new marketed drugs, and record output value of 26 billion yuan ($3.8 billion) this year. By 2025, there would be six 5-billion-yuan enterprises, five new marketed drugs, and recorded value of 45 billion yuan ($7 billion).

By 2035, Zhuhai would have at least ten 5-billion-yuan enterprises and 10 new marketed drugs. The local biomedicine sector will be modernized, high-end, and global, and generate 120 billion yuan ($18 billion) in output value. Biomedical production sources will be freely circulated between Guangdong and Macao.

Biomedical experiments [File photo by Zhang Zhou]

In line with the goals, the Action Plan for Zhuhai to Propel High-Quality Development of Biomedicine Industry (2020-25) is intended to boost innovation capability, industrial competitiveness, industrial agglomeration, high-level opening-up, and cooperation and support.

The focus will be on the transformation and upgrade of chemical drugs, breakthrough in key biological pharmacy technology, standardization and internationalization of modern traditional Chinese medicine, industrialization of high-end preparations, R&D and industrialization of mid-to-high-end medical equipment, and innovative integration of the big-health industry.

Eighteen measures relate to R&D innovation, public service platforms, enterprise introduction and incubation, and industrial environment improvement.

Highlighted is a lifecycle support system for biomedicine enterprises covering introduction, settlement, R&D, and industrialization. For instance, Zhuhai will offer up to 2 million yuan ($292,800) to newly established biomedical manufacturing projects for every tranche of annual paid-in registered capital of $10 million/100 million yuan ($15 million) before the projects come into operation. Each national key preparation that receives first approval for industrialization in Zhuhai will also be granted up to 2 million yuan.

The city will provide additional support to biomedicine enterprises that invest heavily in long R&D. Those with products in Phase I, II, and III clinical trials will receive one-off incentives of up to 3 million yuan ($439,200), 5 million yuan ($732,000), and 10 million yuan ($1.5 million) respectively. Nearly half of the trial liability insurance costs for new drugs that enter clinical research can be compensated. A single enterprise can obtain a maximum new drug R&D subsidy of 20 million yuan ($3 million).

In addition, the city proposed marketing authorization for production, a maximum 500,000 yuan ($73,200) to firms that cultivate major biomedical species, and 2 million yuan to operators of Biomedicine Demonstration Parks of Guangdong Province.