The biomedicine industry is one of Chongqing's strategically prioritized emerging industries. Recently, the "City V Delegation" visited Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd, a leading biomedicine enterprise rooted in this mountainous city for over two decades, to understand its dynamic practices in innovation-driven development.
The "City V Delegation" visits Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd. (Photo provided by the event organizer)
At Zhifei's headquarters exhibition hall, a display wall showcasing its independent R&D layout immediately draws attention. "Meningococcal vaccines, pneumonia vaccines, enteric vaccines, influenza vaccines, tuberculosis products… Zhifei's product portfolio is incredibly diverse!" exclaimed Liang Shuyun, a member of the City V Delegation.
"This showcases some of our self-developed achievements. To date, Zhifei has 34 ongoing projects, 19 of which are in clinical trials or registration application stages. These include blockbuster products such as the S. flexneri and S. sonnei Bivalent Shigella Conjugate Vaccine, Quadrivalent Recombinant Norovirus Vaccine (Pichia Pastoris), and 26-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine," explained the exhibition guide.
As the first privately owned vaccine enterprise listed on China's ChiNext board, Zhifei has established a comprehensive industrial chain integrating R&D, production, sales, promotion, distribution, and import/export of vaccines and biological products. "We consistently adhere to an innovation strategy centered on independent R&D, supplemented by collaborative R&D, and enhanced by investment incubation. We continuously increase R&D investment and have now built three major R&D-production bases in Beijing, Anhui, and Chongqing. Additionally, we established an innovation incubation center in Beijing, steadily improving our technology platforms and product matrix," stated a company representative.
The delegation then proceeded to the Chongqing Zhirui Biopharmaceutical Industry Park. Spanning a net area of 73.3 hectares (1,100 mu), this park is a biomedicine innovation hub developed by Zhifei through its investment platform Chongqing Zhirui Investment. It also forms a crucial part of Zhifei's integrated "Prevention & Treatment" system. Within the park, modern R&D buildings and production facilities stand in orderly fashion. Researchers move purposefully between them, radiating an atmosphere of technological innovation.
The "City V Delegation" visits Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd. (Photo provided by the event organizer)
"Cumulative investment in the park has exceeded 12 billion yuan (about 1.67 billion U.S. dollars), primarily focused on major disease areas such as metabolic disorders, oncology, and autoimmune diseases," explained a park representative. The park has successfully incubated several innovative biopharmaceutical companies, including Chongqing Genrix Biopharmaceutical and Chenan Biopharm.
The "City V Delegation" visits Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd. (Photo provided by the event organizer)
At Chongqing Genrix Biopharmaceutical, delegation members toured bright, clean, modern laboratories where scientists operated precision instruments. It was introduced that Chongqing Genrix Biopharmaceutical independently developed Xeligekimab injection, which is the first domestically produced, fully human anti-IL-17A monoclonal antibody for the psoriasis treatment market. It is also the first domestically developed IL-17A inhibitor approved in China for treating Ankylosing Spondylitis (radiographic axial spondyloarthritis), achieving true domestic substitution.
At Chenan Biopharm, a collection of drug samples targeting metabolic diseases like diabetes and obesity captured the delegation's attention.
The "City V Delegation" visits Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co., Ltd. (Photo provided by the event organizer)
"Can these drugs really aid weight loss?" "What breakthroughs do they offer compared to traditional diabetes medications?" Facing these questions from the delegation, a Chenan Biopharm representative provided detailed answers and introduced the company's cutting-edge pipeline layout and progress in areas such as GLP-1 analogues and insulin analogues.
In March this year, Zhifei increased its investment to gain controlling ownership of Chenan Biopharm, further targeting the dual tracks of "Prevention + Treatment" and refining its "Prevent Disease + Treat Disease" strategy. Currently, Chenan Biopharm has over ten projects in its pipeline. Among them, Liraglutide Injection (for Type 2 diabetes) is in the application for market release; Semaglutide Injection (for Type 2 diabetes) and Insulin Degludec Injection (for Type 2 diabetes) have completed clinical trial; Semaglutide Injection (for Overweight/Obesity) and Insulin Degludec/Insulin Aspart are currently in Phase Ⅲ clinical trial. At the same time, Chenan Biopharm has established an industrial production base capable of supporting product development and large-scale manufacturing, with an annual production capacity of 30 million finished product doses.
"Through this visit, I gained a profound appreciation for the innovative strength of Chongqing's biomedicine industry. The progress of Chenan Biopharm's GLP-1 ( glucagon-like peptide-1) development was particularly surprising. As a family member of a diabetic patient, I eagerly await the market launch of these products," shared Mr. Li, a delegation member.
"What impressed me most was the integrated 'Prevention + Treatment' development system Zhifei has built. From traditional vaccines to therapeutic drugs, including their investment incubation platform, they are creating a comprehensive biomedicine ecosystem. The incubation model at Zhirui Biopharmaceutical Park, fostering innovative companies like Chongqing Genrix Biopharmaceutical and Chongqing Chenan Biopharm through equity investment, provides a valuable collaborative development model and an innovation benchmark for the industry," commented Ms. Wang, another delegation member.
As a hallmark of Chongqing's biomedicine innovation, Zhifei's development journey epitomizes the city's commitment to innovation-driven growth. In the future, the City V Delegation will continue to explore more Chongqing enterprises, showcasing the vibrant momentum of high-quality development in this mountainous metropolis.
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