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"The Shenzhen Bay Lab is centered on scientists and encourages free exploration and original innovation, which is really attractive to us."

In 2014, Xie Siwei began to work in the field of PET molecular imaging equipment. The founder of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where he studied was Lawrence, the inventor of the cyclotron and winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics.

After graduating with a doctorate, attracted by Shenzhen's strong scientific and innovative atmosphere, Xie Siwei entered the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory in Guangming District, Shenzhen, and carried out basic research on core technologies to applied research. With the promotion of Shenzhen's technological industry transformation and the government's rapid decision-making, PET-related technologies have been implemented.

Xie Siwei told the reporter of The Paper that starting from 2020, the technology accumulated in the previous 6 years will be made into a complete machine. In September 2022, through the transformation of scientific and technological achievements of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, the founding team established Wanying Technology, and after being noticed by BGI Songhe Fund, it received its investment and settled in Wanyouyingli (Guangming Biomedicine Innovation Center) located in Guangming Science City. At present, Wanying Technology has completed the research and development and iteration of key technologies in the field of molecular imaging, and finally converged to the brain-specific PET and small animal PET tracks. The small animal PET system currently sold can achieve high-precision full-body scanning and real-time imaging of mice and even rats.

The rat and mouse PET/CT system independently developed by Wanying Technology. Photo provided by the interviewee

As a high-tech enterprise incubated by the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory and the Bay Gravity Mechanism, Wanying Technology is one of the high-end medical imaging companies that have emerged in the current scientific and technological innovation atmosphere and incubation mechanism of Guangming District, Shenzhen.

Don't let innovation "fight alone", build a bridge from 0 to 1. In order to better promote basic research and make innovation results more smoothly, Guangming District is creating a series of innovation mechanisms and incubation carriers. One by one, vigorous enterprises like Wanying are walking out of the laboratory and into the market in a strong atmosphere of scientific innovation and flexible mechanisms.

The Bay has gravity, universal gravitation

Unlike writing a paper or making a breakthrough in technology, building an entire system requires considering more complex situations.

"Making detectors and electronic circuits into complete machines involves not only how to make core components, but also engineering, ensuring the stability of the system, and the need for supporting software algorithms." Xie Siwei said that the industrialization process has great uncertainty, a long cycle and consumes a lot of money. Scientific and technological companies require high investment in product research and development, which is contrary to the goal of becoming self-sufficient as soon as possible. "Shenzhen Bay Laboratory can continuously support the company's technological innovation by conducting original basic research and breaking the boundaries between 'basic' and 'application'."

If the technology developed by the laboratory and the patents that have been verified and evaluated in the early stage can be commercialized, they will be transferred to the company through intellectual property evaluation. This mechanism combines technology and products very well. "The person in charge of Wanyouyingli has an international vision and can help a lot. They are all intangible assets."

The Bay Gravitation mentioned by Xie Siwei is a biomedical industry incubation platform jointly established by the Guangming District Government and Shenzhen Bay Laboratory. The creation of this innovation carrier is to tap into more innovative forces from the source of life sciences to grow in Guangming, Shenzhen, and help Guangming become a highland for the industrialization of biomedicine. The Bay Gravitation team is composed of members with deep accumulation in life sciences, industrial transformation, enterprise incubation, laboratory management, etc.

"We have 24 incubation units here, each of which includes an office and a laboratory. Taking into account the differentiated needs of biopharmaceutical companies and medical device companies for laboratories, we have also made corresponding equipment and experimental site arrangements. The 10 companies currently incubated are all entrepreneurial projects of scientists or doctors, and 100% of the founders are returnees with PhDs." said Wu Tong, operations director of Wanyouyingli.

The attraction of the Bay Area empowers scientists to transform their research results. Photo provided by the interviewee

Wanyouyingli is not for profit, but fully supports scientists and doctors in innovation and entrepreneurship. It focuses on cultivating CGT (cell gene therapy), AI pharmaceuticals and high-end medical imaging companies with disruptive innovative technologies. Startups can "move in with their bags", and the space also provides a wealth of shared instruments and equipment and cell experiment platforms, which greatly reduces the site and instrument equipment operating costs of start-ups.

In the process of industrial transformation, scientists will face many trivial tasks beyond science. At the beginning of its establishment, Wanyouyingli positioned itself as a one-stop industrial transformation platform. In addition to basic services such as industrial and commercial finance and taxation, it also provides scientists and entrepreneurs with upstream and downstream docking services for the industrial chain through the empowerment capabilities of the carrier. In addition, it will connect with fund capital to build a bridge of cooperation and help enterprises to smoothly move forward in the market.

At the same time, the Bay Gravity team and the Guangming District Government will carefully screen and evaluate the enterprise projects that are settled in. Relying on the professional knowledge reserves of the review team and the scientific research strength of the Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, they will jointly evaluate and decide whether to introduce them.

Wu Tong introduced that Bay Gravity has high standards for the research and judgment of the project itself. The source innovation of the project, the academic background of the founder, the advancement of the technology, the market situation of competing products, etc. will become factors for consideration. The research and judgment will be refined to the point where it is necessary to evaluate whether a target that many international companies are chasing can still find its own way in the competition. "Transformation must not be forced. What our platform needs to do is to help scientists bring technology products to the market at the right time." Incubator platforms such as Bay Gravity are becoming an important link in the biomedical industry chain in Guangming District.

Shenzhen Bay Laboratory allows scientists to explore freely

After returning to China, the reason why Xie Siwei's team chose Shenzhen Bay Laboratory was related to its flexible mechanism.

Among the 10 companies currently incubated by Bay Gravity, 3 are incubated by full-time PI entrepreneurs from Shenzhen Bay Laboratory.

The so-called PI refers to the main researcher who exercises certain scientific research management rights and responsibilities within the institution and in scientific research projects. The PI system has become a scientific research organization model commonly used in Western countries. Shenzhen Bay Laboratory currently has more than 100 PI research groups. Yan Ning, a top scientist in the field of structural biology, was hired as the director of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory in March 2023. The laboratory has achieved remarkable results in neurological diseases, tumors, infectious diseases, software and equipment development, etc.

"The laboratory model is also very innovative. If there is a clear indicator of publishing papers, it will be contrary to our goal of doing applied research. The main thing is to combine the research background and the current real clinical needs to do research and explore freely." Xie Siwei said that free exploration does not mean there is no pressure. The laboratory will invite peer experts to review and evaluate from the most professional perspective whether it is worth continuing to receive support from the laboratory. Under the free and open evaluation model, guided by technology or actual work done, we can boldly explore the world's most cutting-edge technologies.

Shenzhen Bay Laboratory focuses on three sectors: basic research, discipline technology, and industry. It has more than 1,200 scientific researchers, led by more than 100 PIs, 80% of whom are conducting basic research on major diseases, creating a profound academic atmosphere.

"Currently, new drugs are updated and new technical concepts emerge in an endless stream, and the market positioning of new drug research and development needs to be accurate. The time requirements for research and development are getting tighter and tighter. After the project is established, it is very important to be able to produce it as soon as possible, otherwise it will be eliminated by the industry market. At the same time, how to cooperate in basic research and transformation of PIs has been explored by Shenzhen Bay Laboratory since its establishment, and it will be the feature and key direction of our future new drug transformation." Liu Wei, from the Center for Translational Medicine of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, told the Pengpai News reporter that the laboratory has many mechanisms to help basic research better enter the market.

Shenzhen Bay Laboratory

From the source of new drug R&D projects, core scientists and hired entrepreneurs or related industry investors form a project committee to conduct reviews to ensure the scientificity and rationality of the project to the greatest extent possible and to ensure that there will be no major deviations in the direction of the implementation process. For example, the Focus project mechanism led by the Laboratory Transformation Department last year invited judges with professional backgrounds such as senior market investors or experts from well-known biopharmaceutical companies to conduct evaluations and regularly follow up on the progress of scientific and technological achievements transformation.

During the new drug project, Shenzhen Bay Laboratory not only has its own professional instrument platform, but also has professionals to provide customized support services for complex systems such as early target or protein screening. These professional instruments will also be shared on Shenzhen's major scientific and technological infrastructure and large-scale scientific research instrument sharing platform.

Developing new drugs based on cutting-edge ideas or new targets is a systematic project. The initial goal of Shenzhen Bay Laboratory's transformation is to evaluate the early drugability of drugs. After a series of tests or evaluations such as preliminary safety, effectiveness and production feasibility, it is decided whether to connect with external pharmaceutical companies or establish a company to further promote drug development.

"If we are lucky, we can get a preclinical candidate compound in 1-2 years, but if we are unlucky, it may take 3-5 years to confirm. If we do fast-follow, the premise is that the original parent drug has been successful, the cycle may be shortened, but in this case the originality is low." Liu Wei said that for new drug research and development scientists in institutions such as Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, low originality means losing characteristics and appeal. Because they are good at early molecular design, methodological establishment and verification, they pay more attention to the scientific nature of the product and continue to explore the mechanism to promote the emergence of more new technologies and new targets.

"Although it is a scientific and systematic evaluation, as long as it involves human experiments, there are many influencing factors, and unexpected successes and failures may occur. This is also the charm of new drug research and development," said Liu Wei.

New material pilot base reduces the worries of start-ups

In the field of new drug research and development, Guangming District has well-known "business cards" - Shenzhen Bay Laboratory and Bay Gravity and other innovation carriers. In the field of new materials, Guangming District has also built a complete new material innovation chain.

With technological innovation driving industrial innovation, Guangming District has formed a 100 billion-level industrial cluster such as ultra-high-definition video display and high-performance materials, and a 50 billion-level industrial cluster such as high-end medical equipment. In 2023, the output value of Guangming District's new materials industry cluster will exceed 120 billion yuan.

In terms of basic research and achievement transformation, Guangming Science City has gathered a large number of scientific facilities and universities. The highly anticipated material genome large scientific facility platform will be completed and put into trial operation this year, aiming to "halve the R&D cycle and R&D cost of new materials" and accelerate the R&D and engineering application of new materials. In the concept verification stage, a number of university industry-university-research institutions have been established, and a professional base has been established for the pilot stage before production, and a pilot platform has been built to promote achievement transformation.

Pilot production is the key link between scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, accounting for about 60% of the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, especially in the field of new materials.

"In the research and development and production process of electronic chemicals, flammable and explosive raw materials are used, which need to comply with environmental protection and emergency management regulations. The operating costs for small and medium-sized enterprises to operate independently are very high. At present, the pilot base provides the emission qualifications and treatment capabilities of the three wastes, so we don’t have to invest in fixed assets in this area." In 2023, Dyprom Materials moved into the Guangming New Materials Pilot Industrial Base. Founder Chen Weilin told the reporter from The Paper that the laboratory's scientific research results provided to customers can only prove technical capabilities. The large-scale production and transformation of laboratory results requires the amplification and enhancement of the pilot stage.

Dypro Materials was established in August 2016. It has developed a new type of self-excited fire extinguishing material for electric vehicles, power cabinets and data cabinets, with various forms such as fast-curing coatings and sheets. It provides solutions to the problems of fire and deflagration caused by the application of new energy batteries in China in recent years.

"Core cities like Shenzhen have relatively strong innovation capabilities, but their land space is limited, making them less suitable for developing large-scale production, especially for the pilot stage." Chu Pengfei, director of the Shenzhen Guangming New Materials Pilot and Transformation Research Institute, told the Paper that this field requires specialized buildings and facilities, and it takes ten years to sharpen a sword. The purpose of building a base is to use the experience of transformation to try to shorten the ten years to five to three years.

From left to right: Dypromium self-igniting fire extinguishing sheets, particles, and coatings. Photo provided by the interviewee

"Chemical synthesis involves environmental protection, safety, supervision, fire and emergency response. The base has a government docking port and regulatory processing equipment. The company has a space for electronic chemical research and development and pilot production, which provides a foundation for large-scale production and helps companies reduce early operational burdens and risks." Chen Weilin said.

Unlike the digital economy and artificial intelligence, new materials have three wastes and need treatment facilities. The exhaust gas device on the roof of the 16th floor of the pilot base has acidic and alkaline particulate gas treatment. After pre-treatment by the previous enterprises, they are uniformly discharged through the facilities. In terms of drainage, the concentrated sulfuric acid and nitric acid used in the experiments of new materials will be specially collected in storage bottles and discharged into the centralized waste liquid treatment device on the underground first floor. The third-party agency will centrally treat them, and the solid waste will also be centrally collected and stored.

The base has 16 R&D companies, one company per floor, focusing on electronic information materials and new energy materials. The founders include many Yangtze River Scholars, outstanding young people and academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Many companies can form upstream and downstream relationships in the base.

Chu Pengfei introduced that the pilot stage is generally divided into two categories. One is the industry-level or professional-level pilot verification platform, which is mainly built by leading enterprises and open to supply chain manufacturers and scientific research teams, and purchased after the pilot test is successful. The other is a comprehensive base.

"However, due to the broad scope of the new materials field and the rich business formats, it is difficult to condense a particularly common platform. We can only rely on leading enterprises in subdivided fields to build common platforms needed in the field, and the government is more focused on the construction of comprehensive platform bases." Chu Pengfei said that in addition to space, the pilot base also provides docking service support such as industrialization funds, park loans, special bonds and market opportunities, and technical strategy consulting services to the companies that settle in.

Many innovative resources are gathered, and scientific concentration and visibility are accelerating

Focusing on the fields of life, information, and materials science and technology, Guangming Science City has continuously promoted the implementation of the "9+11+2+2" major scientific and technological innovation carriers, vigorously introduced large research institutes, and accelerated the improvement of scientific concentration and visibility.

Guangming District is located in the northwest of Shenzhen. It has major scientific research platforms such as the Shenzhen Academy of Medical Sciences and the Guangming Institute of Advanced Studies of Southern University of Science and Technology. It has also introduced research-oriented universities such as the Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University and Shenzhen University of Science and Technology. Guangming is accelerating the construction of a world-class science city, creating an industrial science and technology innovation center with greater global influence and a core carrier area for high-level talents in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It has become one of the areas with the highest concentration of science and technology research institutions in the Greater Bay Area.

The relevant person in charge of the Science and Technology Innovation Bureau told the reporter of The Paper that Guangming District is actively promoting innovation in the whole process of transfer and transformation. Scientific research institutions and colleges and universities are encouraged to establish a technology incubation system, focusing on the incubation and investment of scientific and technological projects, to promote the output of transformable scientific and technological achievements. The experience and practices of the pilot reform of the empowerment of scientific and technological achievements in positions should be summarized and replicated and promoted to fully stimulate the innovative vitality and achievement transformation potential of scientific researchers.

Guangming District also stimulates innovation and creation and enhances the atmosphere of innovation and entrepreneurship by holding innovation competitions.

Not long ago, the third Synthetic Biology Innovation Competition was held in Guangming District, Shenzhen. The competition attracted 147 teams from more than 60 universities at home and abroad, and more than 450 students participated on site. Since the inception of the Innovation Competition, the number of participating teams has almost doubled year by year, and its influence has expanded rapidly.

The Innovation Competition not only tests knowledge accumulation and problem-solving ability, but also emphasizes forward-looking thinking about the industry in terms of project implementation and application. Compared with the previous two Innovation Competitions, this year's competition system has been upgraded. Three new theme tracks have been designed for the regular season, covering multiple cutting-edge directions in synthetic biology.

The team led by Li Boyang from Nankai University participated in a protein design competition to transform green fluorescent protein (GFP), a classic reporter gene that has been widely used around the world, especially in biology and medicine.

Li Boyang told reporters, "The only criterion for evaluating the results is the fluorescence intensity of the protein we designed. We do this through dry experiments, that is, computational models, such as machine learning and deep learning. Completing this competition requires students from the School of Life Sciences and the School of Computer Science to cooperate with each other and strive to explore different interdisciplinary subjects. After the design, we will also verify it and think about its contribution to industrialization."