On July 27, the 2022 Nanjing Jiangning High-tech Zone Pharmaceutical R&D Service Alliance Innovation and Development Conference was held under the theme -Linking the Pharmaceutical Ecosystem, Forging High-tech Momentum.The conference reviewed the Alliance-s work over the past year, aligned with Jiangning District-s development positioning of -two places and two zones,- and focused on the goal of -four areas and one city- for Jiangning High-tech Zone. The event aimed to drive the core of biomedical industry development, accelerate the establishment of a wel-structured, dynamic, well-supported, and service-oriented industrial ecosystem, fully support Jiangning High-tech Zone in building a distinctive cluster for new medicine and life health industries, and contribute -Jiangning High-tech power- to the new pattern of industrial development.

Attendees included Wang Guangji, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and honorary director of the Alliance; Wang Aijun, Vice Mayor of Jiangning District and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Jiangning High-tech Zone; and Zhu Chunming, Director of Jiangning District Science and Technology Bureau.

To create a high-quality entrepreneurial environment and truly reduce burdens on innovation and R&D, in May 2020, Jiangning High-tech Zone integrated multiple resources and took the lead in establishing the Pharmaceutical R&D Service Alliance under a “government platform, enterprise performance” model. Over the past two years, by fully leveraging the Alliance’s role as a “link” and “bridge,” the Alliance has helped drive three major changes in the biomedical industry of Jiangning High-tech Zone: more active R&D services, a greater emergence of high-quality projects, and a growing number of innovative entities.

According to information from the Pharmaceutical R&D Service Alliance, in 2021 more than 20 member organizations focused on common and key technical challenges in biomedical technology development, carrying out industry-university-research collaboration and joint problem-solving. The Alliance actively promoted the landing of high-quality projects, introducing projects such as the novel formulation platform R&D and industrialization project of Zhejiang Jiuzhou Pharmaceutical – Nanjing Kangchuanji Pharmaceutical Technology Co., Ltd., the targeted innovative drug development project for major diseases by Nanjing Yaowei Biotechnology, and Kangzhou Pharmaceutical's special platform project – the first in Jiangsu Province to produce innovative drugs using the MAH system. The Ruiyuan stem cell project, led by Academician Wang Guangji and having completed hundreds of millions of yuan in financing, is expected to develop the first stem cell drug in China.

In the past two years, nearly 100 pharmaceutical companies have joined Jiangning High-tech Zone. The park has now gathered close to 10,000 highend talents and innovators in the medical and health field, forming a relatively complete talent chain, innovation chain, and industrial chain.

At the Innovation and Development Conference held that day, the Jiangning High‑tech Zone Pharmaceutical R&D Service Alliance signed an agreement with Yaozhi.com. Under the agreement, the two parties will form a deep strategic partnership. Using regular series of meetings as a vehicle, Yaozhi.com will design and assist in implementing themes for the Alliance from three perspectives – information exchange, learning, and customer acquisition – to facilitate internal communication, external communication, and business exchanges.

During the conference, a certification ceremony and an innovation voucher award ceremony were held. The Jiangning District Science and Technology Bureau presented a plaque recognizing the Alliance as a district‑level technology alliance. Ten companies received Alliance innovation vouchers, which can be used to purchase services from Alliance member units, including testing and inspection, technical certification, qualification certification, technology transfer, intellectual property services, and access to research facilities and equipment. Leaders from Kangchuanji, Yaozhi.com, and Zhongpeng Medical gave exchange speeches.

In the next phase, the Jiangning High-tech Zone Pharmaceutical R&D Service Alliance will continue to play a leading and exemplary role, attracting more leading enterprises, universities, and research institutes to join the Alliance, fully demonstrating its role as a "bridge and link." Focusing on future difficulties and pain points in the industry's development, the Alliance will increase R&D efforts and innovation services, actively help companies reduce costs and solve problems, support the rapid growth of biomedical companies in the park, and build a better service system. By actively exploring operating models that better support high-quality development of the Alliance, it will intensify efforts to gather innovative resources, bring more talent resources, innovative products, and high-quality projects to the park, and expand the Alliance's brand influence.

The pharmaceutical industry is a key specialty industry of Jiangning High-tech Zone. The park will seize the opportunity of pharmaceutical industry transformation, follow the new goal of "four areas and one city," actively leverage its "high-tech" advantages, make every effort to cultivate "high-end, precision, and cutting-edge" projects in the pharmaceutical field, continuously enhance core industrial competitiveness, and achieve steady development of the biomedical industry with distinctive innovation features.