news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

Economic Observer Gao Ruoying/Text At the forefront of life sciences, Boston's Kendall Square is undoubtedly the world's most recognized and most innovative one-square-mile area (covering approximately 2.6 million square meters). It is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, just a stone's throw away from MIT. It is one of the most densely populated areas of innovative companies in the world, and one of the most densely populated and leading areas of biomedical research in the world.

Shenzhen, the city with the most innovation and entrepreneurship vitality in China, is nurturing the "Chinese version of Kendall Square" in the field of biomanufacturing. Guangming District in the north of Shenzhen, at the intersection of Gongchang Road and Guangqiao Road, takes the Shenzhen Engineering Biological Industry Innovation Center as the starting point, and is surrounded by the National Biomanufacturing Industry Innovation Center, Sun Yat-sen University Shenzhen Campus, Shenzhen University of Science and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and major scientific and technological infrastructure in the field of synthetic biology research, etc., jointly building a biological innovation ecosystem integrating scientific research, education, and industry.

With the start of construction of the National Biomanufacturing Industry Innovation Center on July 14, the first national industrial innovation platform in China's biomanufacturing field has also been established in Shenzhen.

Back in May 2017, Shenzhen launched the "Implementation Plan for the Construction of Ten Major Scientific and Technological Infrastructures", in which synthetic biology research facilities were included as a key link in the plan. Four years later, the Shenzhen Engineering Biological Industry Innovation Center came into being. Taking this as an opportunity, Shenzhen's ecological layout in the field of synthetic biology is accelerating.

In 2021, Guangming District issued China's first special support policy for synthetic biology, allocating 400 million yuan in fiscal funds for three consecutive years to support the industry. 2021 is also regarded by the capital market as the first year for the development of China's synthetic biology industry. In the past three years, one out of every two synthetic biology companies established in the country was established in Shenzhen, and nearly 80% of these companies were concentrated in Guangming District, Shenzhen. As of now, the total number of synthetic biology companies in Guangming District has exceeded 100, with a total valuation of more than 30 billion yuan.

This seems to be a story of "great effort brings about miracles". Driven by solid infrastructure construction and favorable policies, a cutting-edge technology industry leading high-end manufacturing is springing up in Shenzhen's Guangming District.

Faced with many uncertainties on the road to innovation and the diverse choices of commercialization paths, we can't help but wonder: Can the process from cutting-edge technology to the formation of industrial potential be achieved through planning? If the answer is no, how can the sustainability and endogenous driving force of industrial development be maintained? On the contrary, if the answer is yes, how can this seemingly impossible planning path be turned into reality step by step in practice?

In order to find the answers to these questions, the Economic Observer conducted a discussion with Luo Wei, general manager of the National Biomanufacturing Industry Innovation Center and director of the Industrial Innovation and Transformation Center of the Shenzhen Synthetic Biology Innovation Institute, while investigating the synthetic biology industry in Guangming District, Shenzhen. Luo Wei, who had worked in related fields overseas for more than ten years, had an indissoluble bond with Guangming District, Shenzhen, because of the large scientific facility project. The Advanced Institute where he worked took the lead in building major scientific and technological infrastructure for synthetic biology research in Shenzhen, and he was also a witness to the development of the synthetic biology industry in Guangming, Shenzhen from its inception to its initial rise.

Luo Wei's answer was unexpected, but also reasonable. He told us that they did not have a detailed plan at the beginning of their exploration in the field of synthetic biology. "Synthetic biology is to achieve continuous progress through the closed loop of design, synthesis, testing and learning." In Luo Wei's view, the synthetic biology industry still cannot do without long-term development planning from a macro perspective, "but if it is a free exploration of cutting-edge technology without considering subsequent commercialization, it will be a completely different matter."

Luo Wei said that the primary task at the current stage is to ensure the smooth flow of channels for technology transformation. The transformation process does not always rely on the system. "It is more important to get the water flowing and create an atmosphere that allows for sustainable transformation."

In addition, compared with the strictly regulated pharmaceutical industry, the products and development directions in the field of synthetic biology are more diverse, but on average, the survival rate of companies that survive for more than five years may still be less than half. What the National Biomanufacturing Industry Innovation Center needs to do is to increase the survival rate of companies as much as possible and minimize the time and financial costs of companies by providing pilot platforms, etc.

However, there is no reference sample for the Shenzhen model, either domestically or internationally. Even Boston, a very successful city in the global biomedical field, does not integrate all elements such as capital, talent, and transformation space into a complete chain like Shenzhen's synthetic biology industry. "We connect these elements with the Shenzhen Synthetic Biology Innovation Institute team as the core, which may be a significant difference between us and other places, and also our advantage," said Luo Wei.

|Dialogue|

Economic Observer: The direction of scientific innovation is changeable. Can the innovative development of synthetic biology be planned?

Luo Wei:From a macro perspective, the development of the synthetic biology industry cannot be separated from long-term and careful development planning. However, if it is free exploration in the frontier areas of science and technology without considering commercial transformation, this is a completely different matter. But I think that even free exploration should have certain plans and directions. Free exploration without industrial support is not advisable in the long run.

At present, we have established a national key laboratory in the field of biomanufacturing. The laboratory plans to solve the world-class scientific and technological problem of single-cell life synthesis, which is called the "moon landing plan" in the biological field in the United States.

In fact, this plan may be more difficult than the moon landing. The core problem of life science is to understand the origin and nature of life. How do the functions of life emerge? We don't know whether we can create life by assembling all the components of a cell, such as cell membranes, nucleic acids, organelles, etc.

We need to deeply explore and grasp the essence of life. If we can successfully create a single-celled life, our understanding of life will reach a new depth. In this process, we will produce many scientific research results, which are valuable resources worth transforming. Only when we can create something can we say that we truly understand it.

Economic Observer: How is the ecological design of the synthetic biology industry in Guangming District, Shenzhen implemented?

Luo Wei:We did not have a detailed plan at the beginning of our exploration in the field of synthetic biology. We just realized that this field has great development potential. We first laid out major scientific and technological infrastructure for synthetic biology. In the process of building large scientific facilities, we formed a new team. During the implementation process, both the government and the scientific research end continued to generate new demands. To meet these demands, we began to lay out innovation centers.

Now, everyone is familiar with our model of "innovation upstairs, entrepreneurship downstairs". In fact, this model was not designed from the beginning. At that time, we faced the dual needs of scientific research team and industrial integration. Due to space limitations, we had to put the two together, but this arrangement brought unexpected benefits to the company, and resource exchanges became more frequent and smoother.

In the process of continuous practice, we are also summarizing the elements and resources needed for enterprise growth, such as holding conferences and setting up funds. The reason why we decided to set up our own fund is that social capital did not understand synthetic biology at the beginning.

When I returned to China in 2018, I contacted more than 40 investment institutions in half a year, but none of them were willing to invest. This prompted us to build our own fund. We raised funds and invested on our own, which was also based on our deep understanding and confidence in synthetic biology.

Economic Observer: How did the initial team and funds come to Shenzhen?

Luo Wei:Shenzhen's development in the field of synthetic biology did not start from scratch. When applying for the synthetic biology project, there were already some co-construction units here, such as Shenzhen Second People's Hospital and BGI. Overall, Shenzhen's layout in the field of synthetic biology was a key turning point. Many people came here because of the layout of Shenzhen University Town.

At that time, the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission and the Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Commission planned a "one facility, one college" model, equipping each major infrastructure with a corresponding college. However, only hardware facilities are like buying a computer without an operating system and software, and no one uses these facilities.

Therefore, the Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology was subsequently approved for establishment and received 150 million yuan in funding each year. It is now in its fifth year. Thanks to the improvement of software and hardware resources and the influence of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, our team continues to grow. In addition, since synthetic biology was not taken so seriously in other regions at the time, Shenzhen had a first-mover advantage of about two years, gathering a large number of talents, and many things were able to proceed smoothly.

Whether at home or abroad, the Shenzhen model does not have exactly the same reference sample. Boston in the United States is very successful in the global biomedical field. They do not unify all the elements such as funds, talents, and transformation space in a complete chain like us. We are centered on the Shenzhen Synthetic Biology Innovation Institute team, connecting these elements in series to jointly promote development. This may be our difference from other places, and it is also our advantage.

Economic Observer: What is your conversion efficiency? Have you made any comparisons?

Luo Wei:The situation of scientific and technological achievements transformation in the world may be slightly optimistic, while the transformation rate in China is relatively low. Of course, there are also views that the low transformation rate in China is not because the transformation process itself is difficult, but because there is a lack of transformable results. But even if it seems that there are not many transformable results at present, we cannot conclude that it will be the same in the future.

Our first priority is to ensure that the conversion channels are unobstructed. The conversion process does not always rely on the system. It is more important to get the water flowing and create an atmosphere that allows for sustainable conversion.

In addition, there are two concepts that need to be distinguished here. The transformation I emphasize refers more to the process of transforming scientific research results in scientific research institutions, such as patents or inventions, into practical applications. This transformation can be achieved by licensing them to companies or establishing new companies based on these scientific research results, while the market may be more concerned about the survival rate of companies, and more focused on the survival and market acceptance of companies after their establishment. In the field of biomedicine, the success rate of new drug research and development is very low, perhaps less than 1%, which is a very cruel reality. The supervision in the field of synthetic biology may not be as strict as that in the pharmaceutical industry, and the products and development directions are more diverse, but the survival rate in the market is still challenging. On average, the survival rate of companies that have been in business for more than 5 years may not exceed half.

Therefore, new companies will continue to emerge in the field of synthetic biology, which is inevitable for the development of the industry. Our current work is to help established companies improve their survival rate. For example, through the pilot platform we have established, companies can save 2 to 3 years and reduce capital investment by 20 million to 30 million yuan. But even so, we cannot guarantee that every company will succeed.

Economic Observer: During the survey, we found that some companies believe that the current market is severely homogenized and that the long-term development direction is to move towards the consumer end, but companies are not sure whether this development direction can be successful.

Luo Wei:At present, the development prospects of synthetic biology are being discussed both at home and abroad, and there is no unified answer to this question.

At present, the market performance of some synthetic biology companies in the United States is not satisfactory. At the same time, we also see companies like Amyris that have achieved remarkable results using synthetic biology technology, although they are not labeled as fermentation products. The industrial changes and market value growth brought about by these companies through technological innovation are huge. For example, Legend Biotech's CAR-T therapy, a single drug may support a market value of tens of billions of dollars. These achievements are not only performance at the corporate level, they also reflect the basic role of synthetic biology in the application process.

I think that similar to how AI technology can empower various fields, synthetic biology is also gradually becoming an enabling underlying technology, so the concept of "synthetic biology +" has great opportunities and development potential. Synthetic biology has many possibilities to explore, such as the development of bacterial drugs, which, if successful, will bring hundreds of billions of dollars in value.

The market direction exists, but for most start-ups, choosing the right direction is still a challenge. Many start-ups originate from laboratories. The founders may start a company because they have an excellent technology, but they lack a deep understanding of market demand and insufficient market experience. Some companies may not know how to reach a wider market. For example, in the face of the huge raw material market, some companies that supply raw materials can only share a small part of the profits.

Enterprises still have a long way to go in their growth process, and they need to learn and supplement a lot of knowledge, especially in market operations. Therefore, we are considering how to help these enterprises establish market channels so that they can directly access the market, rather than just being limited to ToB (business users) customers.

Economic Observer: Has China's synthetic biology industry entered a bubble period?

Luo Wei:The term bubble first appeared when the Internet industry was emerging. Bubble is an inevitable stage in the development of an industry, reflecting the market's pursuit of a certain industry and the influx of funds. Therefore, bubble can be regarded as a sign of the rise of an industry. If there is no bubble, it means that the industry is not yet mature.

I think the synthetic biology industry is still far from the bubble period, and it may just have made a small splash. Whether in terms of capital investment, the number of start-ups or the number of employees, synthetic biology cannot be compared with industries such as the Internet, mobile Internet, and artificial intelligence. Because it is related to life and health, the development of the bioindustry will not be as rapid as the Internet. The bioindustry needs to start from technology, laboratories, talents, and attention to the transformation of results. This is a long and complex process.

The development of synthetic biology may be more similar to the new energy vehicle industry. In the fields of biomaterials and bioenergy, synthetic biology is more of a substitute for traditional petrochemicals or materials, which also means that these products are not necessities, just like new energy vehicles. Although neither is a necessity, we can still open up new industrial fields through the promotion of national policies.

The new energy vehicle industry has been developing for nearly 20 years, and only in recent years has it shown phased results. Whether it is national policy or industry, we should believe that the development direction of the synthetic biology industry is correct, although this process may take a long time.

Copyright Statement: The above content is the original work of the Economic Observer, and the copyright belongs to the Economic Observer. Reprinting or mirroring is strictly prohibited without the authorization of the Economic Observer, otherwise the legal liability of the relevant behavior subject will be pursued in accordance with the law. For copyright cooperation, please call: [010-60910566-1260].

Gao Ruoying, Editor, Economic Observer

Editor of Management and Innovation Case Research Institute
Bachelor of Arts, Master of Communication. She is good at investigative reporting, focusing on the field of education and the stories behind corporate values ​​and changes.