On the emerging track of synthetic biology, Zhangjiang Science City has already carried out a forward-looking layout. At the main forum of the 2023 Zhangjiang Life Science International Innovation Summit, the Shanghai Zhangjiang Synthetic Biology Innovation Center, jointly initiated by Academician Zhao Guoping, one of the founders of Shenghe Wanwu, and his team and Zhangjiang Group, was officially unveiled. The center focuses on building a cell factory for natural compounds, providing multi-dimensional technical support for the synthesis of natural products in Shanghai, R&D, biomanufacturing and related drug declarations.
At present, Zhangjiang has basically complete elements of synthetic biology industry, forming a relatively complete industrial ecology, involving different types of enterprises and institutions such as product, platform, technology, and scientific research.
In the top-level application, Zhangjiang has a strong concentration of product-oriented enterprises and a high degree of visibility, and has gathered a number of representative companies in the field of synthetic biology in China. Such as Cathay Biotech, Enkaisai Pharmaceutical, Changjin Biotech, Shiwei Technology (CellX), Ketaiya Biotech, Yiru Biotech, Desano Biotech, Yuguan Biotech, etc. Biological product companies involve various types of cells, nucleic acids, proteins, etc., among which the cell and gene therapy track has obvious advantages in China, including Origin Cell, Shanghai Zhangjiang Biobank, etc.
Among the middle-tier industrial platforms, Zhangjiang platform-based enterprises/institutions have a first-mover advantage. One is the application-oriented platform represented by the China National Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry and the National Protein Science Center, which provides technology development services for basic R&D and process development, and the other is the construction-oriented platform represented by laboratory automation enterprises such as Benyao Technology and Xuanjian Technology, which provides high-throughput and intelligent new infrastructure services.
Among the underlying enabling technologies, Zhangjiang has complete technical elements and a wide range of technology-based enterprise capabilities, and has gathered a number of high-quality enterprises in the industry. For example, Kangma Biotech, which is committed to protein synthesis, Yisheng Biotech, which focuses on protein modification and enzyme evolution technology, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Meifutai Biotech, as well as Diying Biotech, Orthobiotech, Insilico Medicine, Shenshi Technology, etc.
Nearly 10 institutions, including Zhangjiang Institute for Advanced Study of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ShanghaiTech University, and Zhangjiang mRNA International Innovation Center, have actively deployed synthetic biology.
In the field of synthetic biology, Cathay, headquartered in Zhangjiang and established for more than 20 years, is a typical representative enterprise. At present, Cathay Biotech has become a representative platform biomanufacturing company in the world, and its dominant position in the competition of bio-based long-chain diacids, bio-based pentanediamine and bio-based polyamide industries is more prominent. As early as 2016, Cathay's bio-based long-chain diacid products achieved a perfect replacement for chemically identical products.
Kangma Biotech, which focuses on protein synthesis, is another representative enterprise that has grown up from Zhangjiang. The D2P technology independently developed by Kangma Biotech can customize protein sequences and synthesize proteins directly from DNA. Today, Kangma Biotech has built the world's only mass production line of more than 100 tons in the field of cell-free protein synthesis.
As a revolutionary technology, biomanufacturing has multiple advantages such as cost and environmental protection, and meets the requirements of global green, low-carbon and sustainable development, which is an important direction to break the bottleneck of fossil raw materials and transform the traditional manufacturing process.
At present, the global synthetic biology industry is in a period of rapid development: upstream companies focus on technology development, midstream companies provide enabling technology platforms, and downstream companies bring innovative products to various vertical industries.
In the face of the huge potential of synthetic biology, an emerging industry, Pudong seized the opportunity and accelerated the layout of cutting-edge new tracks. Zhangjiang has a unique industrial foundation and advantages, and has developed a new track of synthetic biology, which is "ready to fly" and ready to go.
Editor: Wang Yumeng
Source: Zhangjiang Medicine Valley
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