China is betting on bio-manufacturing to boost technological self-reliance and drive economic growth as part of the next five-year plan, elevating the sector on par with electric vehicles and semiconductors. Forty-three companies and research institutes were selected in the first batch of pilot-scale manufacturing platforms for products ranging from biopharmaceuticals to food additives and enzymes to cosmetics, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). “In the coming years, biotech, including innovative drugs, will definitely be a top priority for the country,” said John Yung, Managing Director and head of Asia healthcare research at Citigroup. “The country needs to grow the whole ecosystem by upgrading manufacturing lines and production capacity, along with expanding clinical management abilities.” Yang Huang, head of China healthcare research at JPMorgan Chase echoed the view, noting that “biological manufacturing has been identified as one of the key economic growth drivers in the government’s 15th Five Year Plan”.
The pilot-scale platforms are designed to help innovators overcome bottlenecks in research and development, manufacturing and the supply chain before achieving commercial-scale production – a phase often called the “valley of death”, where promising innovations can stall. “In the past, it was difficult for researchers to access pilot-scale manufacturing, as manufacturers were often unwilling to take on small, unprofitable orders,” Huang said. “With these new platforms, researchers may now have a way to move one step closer to potential commercialization.”
According to a policy document released by the MIIT in June, the initiative highlighted a market-oriented approach, encouraging pilot platforms to provide paid services. It also called for enhancing data security and biosafety. By 2027, the government aimed to have pilot-scale platforms serve more than 200 enterprises and convert the research outcomes into more than 400 commercial products, it said.
What mattered the most was the policy guidance and official endorsement for the research institutes and companies on the list, according to Bruce Liu, Senior Partner at Simon-Kucher. “Gaining official recognition from the MIIT is itself a form of capital or qualification,” Liu said. “They can now tell their clients that they are part of the first-batch certified pilot platform and they can legitimately charge market rates for their services.” Local governments were expected to provide additional support through subsidies, tax incentives or special funds for companies and institutes on the list, Liu added. The government backing comes as Chinese biotechs are enjoying huge success in licensing their early-stage drug candidates to global pharmaceutical companies, the South China Morning Post reports.
