Following several consecutive investment promotion events linking the world this year, the opening up of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has once again attracted global "giants" to hear about it.
On December 13, the Pharmaceutical Research and Development Committee (RDPAC) of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment led a delegation of CEOs of more than 30 multinational pharmaceutical companies into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
In the morning, Zhang Hu, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee and Executive Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, met with a delegation of CEOs of RDPAC and multinational pharmaceutical companies. In the afternoon, the presidents went to Guangzhou International Biological Island to participate in the symposium of "Guangzhou Tour of Presidents of Multinational Pharmaceutical Enterprises in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area", and carried out an in-depth "heart-to-heart talk" with the heads of relevant provincial and municipal departments, and jointly looked forward to the vision of deepening cooperation, expanding business and seeking development in Guangdong and the Greater Bay Area.
At this time, the leading multinational pharmaceutical companies took the initiative to launch a trip to the Greater Bay AreaWhat is the motivation?What will this exchange bring to the development of the biomedical industry in the Greater Bay Area?
A delegation of presidents of multinational pharmaceutical companies attended the symposium at Guangzhou International Biological Island. Photo courtesy of the organizer.
Signal: Optimistic about the prospects of the biomedical market in the Greater Bay Area
RDPAC represents 46 leading multinational pharmaceutical companies with cutting-edge R&D capabilities. What kind of signal does RDPAC send when it takes the initiative to launch a "trip to the Greater Bay Area"?
From a global perspective, the biomedicine and health industry is the focus of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial revolution. In recent years, China's biomedicine and health industry has developed rapidly, with an average annual compound growth rate of more than 10%. With the rapid adjustment and recovery of China's pharmaceutical and medical device markets after the transition of the new crown epidemic prevention and control, China is still the preferred place for multinational pharmaceutical companies to expand their investment.
From the perspective of China's biopharmaceutical industry, the Greater Bay Area is not only one of the largest biopharmaceutical markets in China, but also plays a pivotal role in the development of China's biopharmaceutical industry in terms of the number of biomedical manufacturing enterprises, the number and quality of invention patents authorized, and the scientific and technological research and development capabilities of the Greater Bay Area. According to Jean-Christophe Boento, global vice president of Pfizer, president of China, chairman of the RDPAC executive committee, and vice president of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, the market size of the biomedical and health industry in Guangdong province in 2022 accounted for 10% of the total pharmaceutical market in China and 12% of the drug market of multinational pharmaceutical companies.
It can be said that the Greater Bay Area has a good foundation for development and broad development prospects in the field of biomedicine and health industry. Zhu Wei, Deputy Director of the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission and Executive Deputy Director of the Provincial Greater Bay Area Office, said in his speech that in recent years, Guangdong has continued to deepen the reform of the business environment, creating a market-oriented, law-based, international, first-class business environment for multinational pharmaceutical companies to invest and do business in the Greater Bay Area. At the same time, the Greater Bay Area continues to optimize the ecology of technological innovation and industrial development, providing important support for multinational pharmaceutical companies to carry out R&D and production of innovative drugs and devices in the Greater Bay Area. In addition, the Greater Bay Area is also committed to providing residents with high-quality health services to meet their aspirations for a better life, which has created broad development prospects for the promotion and application of innovative products by multinational pharmaceutical companies.
RDPAC member companies see China as a strategic market and the Greater Bay Area as one of the key regions to drive business growth in China. Jean-Christophe Bonnto expressed his determination to seek development in China and the Greater Bay Area, and hoped to understand the policies and measures implemented in the Greater Bay Area in biomedicine, and further strengthen cooperation with local ** and innovative enterprises to achieve a win-win situation in cooperation.
Confidence: Policy advantages will help accelerate the entry of new drugs into the "bay".
Exploring and accelerating the entry of innovative drugs into the Greater Bay Area market is an important purpose of the CEOs of multinational pharmaceutical companies. During the exchange, policies such as "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices" were the key topics that the CEOs paid attention to.
The Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices Special Window of the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital South**.
In 2020, the Greater Bay Area (GBA) launched the "Hong Kong-Macao Medicines and Medical Devices Connect" policy to support the use of clinically urgently needed drugs and devices that have been marketed in Hong Kong and Macao in designated medical institutions in the Mainland. This policy has opened up a channel for international advanced innovative drugs and devices to quickly enter the clinical application in the mainland to meet the urgent needs of clinical patients.
Since its implementation more than two years ago, a total of 19 designated medical institutions and 48 types of medical devices have been approved under the "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices" policy, benefiting more than 4,000 patients. For example, Pfizer's breakthrough drug for non-small cell lung cancer - the third-generation ALK inhibitor, and Roche's innovative fundus bispecific antibody farecimab have been included in the "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices Connect" directory.
Multinational pharmaceutical companies attach great importance to the opportunities brought by the "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Device Connect". According to Zhang Wei, general manager of Merck China, the introduction of the "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices Connect" is a great benefit to multinational pharmaceutical companies, "which will greatly encourage innovative pharmaceutical companies to deploy more products and resources in the Greater Bay Area." ”
The reporter learned from the symposium that in order to continue to optimize the implementation of the "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices Connect" policy, the Greater Bay Area will expand the scope of designated medical institutions in a timely manner, improve the evaluation indicators of drugs and devices, optimize the approval process, improve the efficiency of approval, and explore the commercial insurance model to improve the accessibility of drugs and medical devices. At the same time, we will actively carry out real-world research on the products of the "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices Connect", and promote and accelerate the registration and licensing of innovative products at the national level while meeting the urgent clinical needs of residents in the Greater Bay Area for innovative products such as drugs for oncology and rare diseases.
The implementation of the policy has achieved initial results, and the policy effect is constantly increasing, and it will continue to increase in the future. Taking advantage of the policy, multinational companies are increasingly favoring the Greater Bay Area market. "Guangdong Province and the Greater Bay Area have carried out a lot of fruitful work in encouraging the development of the biomedical industry and innovating the drug regulatory system, and have made remarkable progress, which has greatly enhanced the vitality and attractiveness of pharmaceutical innovation. Multinational pharmaceutical innovation companies are very recognized, highly appreciated and encouraged. Jin Fangqian, global vice president and general manager of Gilead China, said.
Trust: Work together to build an innovation highland for the biomedical industry in the Greater Bay Area
As the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) marks its fifth anniversary, the Greater Bay Area is accelerating the development of an international science and technology innovation hub and building a modern industrial system with international competitiveness. Among them, the biomedicine and health industry, as one of the key development industries in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, has gradually formed a multi-level, high-level and international scientific and technological innovation system. In the future, the development opportunities will continue to be superimposed, which will bring unlimited development potential to multinational pharmaceutical companies.
The Dongguan Spallation Neutron Source is one of the largest scientific facilities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which can provide important support for biomedical innovation. Figure South**.
In Hong Kong, according to the Chief Executive's 2023 Policy Address, Hong Kong will prepare for the establishment of the "Hong Kong Centre for the Supervision and Administration of Drugs and Medical Devices" next year. This is known as the "Hong Kong version of the FDA" and will end the history of Hong Kong without a local drug regulatory and new drug approval authority. In addition, Hong Kong has also proposed to set up an international clinical trial institute in the Greater Bay Area in the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Co-operation Zone in the Loop next year to provide a one-stop clinical trial support platform for pharmaceutical research and development. Some analysts believe that the establishment of the "Hong Kong version of the FDA" and the international clinical trial institute in the Greater Bay Area is conducive to domestic and foreign pharmaceutical companies to carry out R&D and clinical trials in Hong Kong, and provides great convenience for the development of the pharmaceutical industry.
According to the relevant person in charge of the Hong Kong Department of Health, in the future, Hong Kong can directly approve drugs based on clinical data without relying on other drug regulatory agencies, accelerate the drug approval process, and attract more domestic and foreign biopharmaceutical companies to carry out drug research and development and clinical trials in Hong Kong.
In Macao, the development of the big health industry is accelerating, and the model of "Hengqin production + Macao supervision" of pharmaceuticals is gradually maturing. The relevant person in charge of the Macao Food and Drug Administration said that he hoped that Macao would become a bridgehead for new drugs to enter the Greater Bay Area, and would encourage more innovative drugs to be marketed in Macao on the premise of ensuring the effectiveness and safety of drugs.
In Guangdong, the research and development of innovative drugs and devices is in a state of vigorous development, and the development momentum of the biomedical industry is good. In recent years, Guangdong has focused on major scientific issues, technological frontiers and industrial innovation and development needs in the field of biomedicine, laid out and built major national scientific and technological infrastructure such as spallation neutron source and human cell lineage, built a number of high-level innovation carriers such as Guangzhou Laboratory and Biological Island Laboratory with high standards, and strived for the international headquarters of the International Science Program of Human Proteome Navigation to settle in Guangzhou, and promoted the construction of a number of industrial innovation centers, engineering research centers, Innovation carriers such as enterprise technology centers provide important R&D conditions for R&D and innovation in the field of biomedicine. Next, Guangdong will increase R&D support for the biomedical industry, strengthen the construction of major innovation and service platforms, and accelerate the construction of the Greater Bay Area into a highland for the innovation and development of the biomedical industry that leads the country and has international influence.
At present, grasping the good development trend of the biomedical industry in the Greater Bay Area, dancing in the wind and taking advantage of the trend is of far-reaching significance and key opportunities for multinational pharmaceutical companies. In fact, more and more multinational pharmaceutical companies are vigorously deploying in the Greater Bay Area and accelerating the construction of R&D and production bases. For example, in 2021, AstraZeneca set up its regional headquarters in southern China on Guangzhou International Bio Island, and in November this year, it set up an R&D center and innovation park in Hong Kong.
At the symposium, representatives of multinational pharmaceutical companies also mentioned many times that they hope to take advantage of the scientific research strength of the Greater Bay Area and the "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices Connect" policy to carry out more real-world research in the Greater Bay Area and accelerate the entry of innovative products into China.
There is now a special opportunity to open an R&D center in the Greater Bay Area. Bian Xin, President of Roche China, said that Guangdong is relying on the "Hong Kong and Macao Medicines and Medical Devices" policy to promote the construction of real-world research in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. "This is a major positive and I believe that many multinational pharmaceutical companies will be willing to invest more R&D resources in the GBA. ”
For the Greater Bay Area, this "heart-to-heart" is also a valuable opportunity to listen to the "global voice" of the biomedical industry. At the end of the year, the new year is coming, and the Greater Bay Area, with its firm attitude of openness, will surely give birth to a new wonderful story of win-win biomedical cooperation.
Producer: Southern Net Think Tank.
Co-ordinator: He Jingwen Men Lili.
Curator: Li Miaojuan, Lin Zifei.
Text: Liu Simin, Li Miaojuan, Lin Zifei
Support: Zhu Qingqi, Wu Chaoxian, Li Jianpeng.