From innovative drugs to gene therapy, from diagnostic reagents to medical devices, the biopharmaceutical "Huangpu Corps" is accelerating its rise in Guangzhou.

On December 15, the 2025 Guangzhou Unicorn Innovation Enterprise List was officially announced, with 210 companies selected citywide. As the area with the densest concentration of unicorn companies in Guangzhou and the leader in Guangzhou's scientific and technological innovation, the Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District have gathered 60 unicorn companies (accounting for 29% of the city's total). Industrial clusters have formed especially in integrated circuits, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, and new energy, attracting hard-tech enterprises like Yuexin Semiconductor, Aifoguangtong, Xinhanglu, and Aodong New Energy.

Biomedicine is already the most distinctive industrial name card of Huangpu District. Just on December 12, the "Guangzhou Development District Strategic Entrepreneur Cultivation Plan - Biomedicine Industry Strategic Breakthrough Roundtable" was held in Huangpu District. Since September this year, the Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District have planned and launched the "Strategic Entrepreneur Cultivation Plan," effectively integrating resources from the government, market, professional institutions, and other parties to enhance corporate competitiveness and entrepreneurs' management capabilities through systematic cultivation.

VectorBuilder connected preliminarily with companies engaged in different segments at this roundtable. Huang Rui, Director and Executive President of VectorBuilder Bio (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., stated that the company is advancing internationalization and increasingly needs to unite with partners in the district to jointly build a "Chinese Technology + Global Market" overseas joint platform. The open, collaborative, and trusting industrial atmosphere of Huangpu District is precisely the developmental soil needed for innovative enterprises.

The company has now grown into the world's largest provider of research-grade gene vector CRO services. Its unique "VectorBuilder" platform is the world's first intelligent gene vector design and production platform. Through modular design and intelligent production, this platform improves vector construction efficiency by nearly a hundredfold, successfully filling the gap in the large-scale production of customized gene vectors globally and propelling the industry into an era of "on-demand customization and rapid delivery." By 2024, VectorBuilder had delivered over one million gene vectors to global clients.

Gene therapy, as a revolutionary treatment approach, involves introducing exogenous normal genes into target cells to fundamentally correct or compensate for diseases caused by defective genes, offering a new path to address medical challenges difficult to overcome with traditional therapies. However, in this field, Chinese companies were followers for a long time. Technological innovations by Huangpu biopharmaceutical enterprises represented by VectorBuilder not only addressed industry pain points such as low efficiency and high costs in gene vector construction but also propelled China towards a leadership role, reshaping the global industrial chain landscape for gene drug research and development.

In the Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District, there are many leading biomedicine enterprises, hidden champions, and star companies like VectorBuilder. A batch of top-tier domestic and international innovative pharmaceutical and medical device companies, including AstraZeneca, Danaher, Thermo Fisher Scientific, ZEISS, Fisher & Paykel, Sino Biopharm, Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, BeiGene, Akeso, and InnoCare, have successively established investments, collectively forming the new landscape of the biomedicine industry in Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District.

Currently, the district has gathered over 4,800 biomedical enterprises, including 528 high-tech enterprises; 21 listed companies, accounting for 72% of the city's total; and has a planned large-molecule biologics production capacity reaching 600,000 liters.

In 2024, the district saw 115 newly approved clinical trial approvals, including 99 for Class 1 innovative drugs; its industrial output value above designated size reached 35.1 billion yuan, placing it in the first tier of domestic biomedical industry development.

Information from the Biomedical and Health Industry Development Office established in Huangpu District this year indicates that, overall, the district has basically formed a favorable development posture featuring comprehensive spatial layout and full-chain development:

R&D is primarily concentrated on Guangzhou International Bio-Island, aiming to build a world-class biomedical and biosafety R&D innovation center and create a national biomedical policy innovation pilot zone.
Technology transfer is focused in Science City, advancing the construction of a world-class biomedical technology transfer center.
Manufacturing is concentrated in Knowledge City, accelerating the building of a world-class biomedical manufacturing center.

On July 3, the Guangzhou International Bio-Island Pilot Park was officially inaugurated in the Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District, achieving cross-park connectivity and sharing. Guangzhou Ledi Life Health City, the International Biomedical Innovation Center, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Biosafety Innovation Port became the first batch of "Guangzhou International Bio-Island Pilot Parks" in Huangpu District, officially launching the pilot practice of the "One Island, Multiple Parks" policy.

The three parks in this first pilot batch have distinct positioning; through functional complementarity, they form a complete biomedical industry chain loop. As a representative private park in Science City, Guangzhou Ledi Life Health City has formed a unique service system by constructing "four-dimensional platforms" encompassing property, industry, technology, and culture. This cooperation will provide enterprises in the park with full-cycle services from technology incubation to industrialization.

Different from the positioning of Guangzhou Ledi Life Health City, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Biosafety Innovation Port, also located in Science City, aims to strengthen technical support and industrial conversion capabilities in the field of biosafety. As the first customized biosafety industrial park in China primarily focused on pilot-scale production, this project fills a gap in the biomedical pilot-scale production segment within the Greater Bay Area.

As the pioneering flagship project within the Knowledge City Biomedical Value Innovation Park, the International Biomedical Innovation Center focuses on addressing manufacturing bottlenecks. This cooperation will provide 280,000 square meters of industrial space, creating an integrated ecological loop encompassing academic exchange, R&D incubation, and commercial facilities, thereby strengthening the biomedical manufacturing capabilities of the Greater Bay Area.

The International Biomedical Value Innovation Park gathers numerous well-known domestic and even world-class top 500 biomedical enterprises. Companies like Akeso and Guangdong Hengrui Pharmaceuticals, relying on globally first-in-class drugs, have not only filled domestic gaps but also gained international attention, providing "Chinese solutions" for global patients.

Founded in 2012, Akeso has developed over 50 innovative drug candidates with full intellectual property rights, including 15 bispecific/multispecific/bispecific ADC drugs; 24 products are undergoing clinical studies globally; and over 25 registrational/Phase III clinical studies for 12 products are underway. It has also become one of China's innovative antibody drug R&D enterprises with the richest R&D pipeline.

Driven by its two core products, cadonilimab and ivonescimab, Akeso's new drug sales revenue exceeded 2 billion yuan in 2024, a 25% year-on-year increase. By the end of 2024, both bispecific antibody products had been included in China's National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL).

On January 17 this year, Guangdong Hengrui Pharmaceuticals held the first shipment ceremony for its first self-developed Class 1 innovative biologic drug, Rencalisimab for Injection (brand name: Aixin'an).

This drug is a humanized monoclonal antibody against proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) independently developed by Hengrui. It is the world's first ultra-long-acting PCSK9 monoclonal antibody, with injection intervals extendable up to 8 weeks, breaking through the current injection frequencies of every 2, 4, or 6 weeks required for approved PCSK9 mAbs domestically and internationally.

The formal shipment of Rencalisimab to hospitals and pharmacies nationwide marks its official entry into clinical use, offering a new treatment option for patients with hypercholesterolemia and mixed dyslipidemia.

Driven by a series of major projects, Huangpu District has formed five advantageous fields: biologics, novel chemical drugs, modern traditional Chinese medicine, diagnostic reagents, and medical testing.

VectorBuilder is a representative enterprise in the cell and gene therapy field. Together with enterprises like BaiJi Bio, Saijun Bio, Cellara, and RuiFeng Bio, they form a new type of industrial cluster.

In 2024, VectorBuilder's output value exceeded 460 million yuan, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in operating revenue exceeding 20% over the past three years. By May 2023, the company had completed financing exceeding 500 million yuan and was listed among "Global Unicorn Companies" with a valuation over 7 billion yuan, becoming Guangzhou's first global unicorn in biotechnology.

Huang Rui believes that for Chinese hard tech to achieve recognition from technological breakthroughs to market acceptance, it is necessary to target R&D in underlying original technologies during early-stage layout and construct an intellectual property system according to relatively high standards from the outset. This path, focusing on core patents and global deployment, supported the company's subsequent technological breakthroughs and provided opportunities to gain recognition from some international clients and professional institutions, thereby establishing genuine international discourse power.

Since its founding, VectorBuilder has established over ten subsidiaries and offices in regions including North America, Europe, and Japan, with its business covering over 100 countries and regions worldwide. Its client coverage also exceeds 90% among the global top 30 pharmaceutical companies.

Furthermore, in the biopharmaceutical sector, leading pharmaceutical companies like BeiGene, Akeso Pharma, and Bio-Thera are driving Huangpu District to become a high ground for innovative R&D. In the novel chemical drugs field, an innovative drug and high-end formulation industrial cluster is led by companies like InnoCare Pharma, Zhongshu RuiChuang, Bebetter, Lupeng Pharma, Yipinhong, and Bosi Tao. In modern traditional Chinese medicine, a full industrial chain system has formed with companies like Zhongyi Pharma, Xiangxue Pharma, and Xinbao Pharma at its core. The diagnostic reagents field has gathered representative enterprises like Wondfo, Daan Gene, and Anbiping.

Lupeng Pharma, a small molecule biopharmaceutical company founded in June 2018, focuses on R&D of innovative drugs for treating malignant tumors and autoimmune diseases, with key layout in international and domestic multicenter clinical development and commercialization targeting key targets like BTK, Bcl-2, and Bcl-xL in hematologic tumors.

According to Lupeng Pharma, its core projects include LP-168 (Rocbrutinib), LP-108 (Lacutoclax), and LP-118. Among them, Rocbrutinib and Lacutoclax have received approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to enter key registrational studies for marketing. The New Drug Application (NDA) for Rocbrutinib has been accepted.

Lupeng Pharma's Rocbrutinib tablets became China's first BTK inhibitor designated as a breakthrough therapy for DLBCL (Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma). It is reported that Rocbrutinib (LP-168) is the world's first fourth-generation covalent and non-covalent BTK inhibitor. It not only overcomes resistance to first, second, and third-generation BTK inhibitors caused by various BTK mutations but also possesses extremely high activity and excellent target selectivity, potentially becoming a Best-in-Class BTK inhibitor. The drug's ongoing clinical studies primarily target various B-cell lymphomas, particularly showing especially excellent efficacy in relapsed/refractory non-germinal center B-cell-like DLBCL (R/R non-GCB DLBCL).

This is one microcosm of Huangpu District becoming a high ground for biomedical innovation and R&D in the province. Data shows that the district sees nearly 100 new drug clinical trial approvals annually, accounting for over 90% of Guangzhou's total and ranking first in the province for four consecutive years. It has seen Class 1 innovative drugs approved for marketing for five consecutive years, with a cumulative total of 12, accounting for 52% of the province's total.

At the critical clinical trial and marketing application stages, early intervention provides precise guidance to help companies navigate the application process and avoid detours. At the production license stage, assistance is provided to quickly handle production license changes, speeding up the process by 80%.
During the marketing review stage, communication channels with the Provincial Administration, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and the NMPA Greater Bay Area Branch are streamlined through the city's task force and the Huangpu workstation to quickly resolve technical issues and promote product approval.
Regarding innovation platforms, the Guangzhou National Laboratory has established the country's first national laboratory concept verification center to accelerate the translation and commercialization of major scientific and technological achievements. Major science facilities like the Human Cell Lineage Research Facility and the Human Proteome Project Navigation International Big Science Program, as well as the Guangzhou Disruptive Technology Innovation Center, are under accelerated construction. In talent introduction, academician teams led by figures like Zhong Nanshan, Xu Tao, Wang Xiaodong, and Zhao Yuliang have been recruited in groups, forming a biomedical "talent galaxy" integrating strategic scientists, excellent clinicians, and outstanding entrepreneurs within the district.

Policy systems and cultivation plans also play a crucial role in ecosystem formation. Guangzhou Boluteng Biotechnology Co., Ltd., whose main business is life science instruments and reagents, is a participant in the "Strategic Entrepreneur Cultivation Plan." Luo Wenbo, General Manager of Boluteng Bio, expressed hope that through this plan, the company can step out of its familiar circle of instrument technology to understand other segments of the industry chain, such as downstream customer needs, and comprehend the industry from the overall perspective of the biomedical industry and capital.

"We believe the key to maximizing technology value lies in achieving precise matching with needs. We focus on evaluating two aspects: First, whether the core detection needs of a new field fall within the coverage of our spectroscopic technology's advantages. Second, whether customers in that field have pain points difficult to solve with existing methods, such as insufficient efficiency, high cost, or inadequate accuracy. When we clearly see that technology can effectively solve real problems and possesses differentiated advantages, we consider cross-field expansion," Luo Wenbo mentioned. Thanks to the support of various plans and policies, Boluteng Bio has maintained an average annual growth rate exceeding 50% since 2020.

Huangpu District has successively issued several specialized policies for the biomedical industry. In 2025, it systematically optimized and iteratively upgraded these policies, issuing the "Measures of Guangzhou Development District (Huangpu District) to Promote High-Quality Development of the Biomedical Industry" ("Biomedicine 3.0" Policy). Support is provided from six aspects: "accelerating sci-tech innovation breakthroughs, speeding up drug and medical device technology transfer, optimizing clinical service support, encouraging product promotion and application, strengthening industrial ecosystem cultivation, and enhancing talent resource support." At the same time, it proactively lays out future industries like synthetic biology and cell and gene therapy, building a full-process, full-chain support system for biomedicine.

The well-developed industry chain and high-quality business environment have attracted more giants to make "heavy investments" in Huangpu. Recently, the global medical giant Fresenius Medical Care officially signed a cooperation agreement with Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District to establish an automated peritoneal dialysis device production base project.

This marks Fresenius Medical Care's second additional investment in Huangpu within a year. In June this year, the company invested in building new production workshops in Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District, launching a domestic continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) replacement fluid project.

According to the plan, Fresenius Medical Care's global headquarters will expand and build new automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) production lines, shifting from import to domestic production to accelerate the localization process. The project is scheduled to commence construction in the first quarter of next year and is planned to be operational by 2028.

Currently, Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District have become one of the areas with the highest concentration of foreign-invested enterprises in South China. From January to October this year, 341 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in the district, a year-on-year increase of 42%. The actual utilized foreign capital was approximately USD 1.18 billion, steadily ranking first in the city.

In April 2025, Guangzhou Development District signed a cooperation agreement with Perennial Group to develop Guangzhou's first wholly foreign-owned specialty hospital in Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District – the Perennial Rehabilitation Hospital. The project is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.

Headquartered in Singapore, Perennial Group is a multinational enterprise specializing in "Healthcare" and "High-speed Rail TOD Integrated Development." Its healthcare business network currently covers 14 cities in China, with over 25,000 healthcare beds owned, operated, and managed in total, constituting China's first comprehensive medical ecosystem led by private capital. Its comprehensive medical facilities include general hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, specialty hospitals, and nursing hospitals, while elderly care facilities encompass independent living, assisted living, nursing homes, and dementia care.

"The project settled in Guangzhou Development District due to three key advantages," said a Perennial Group representative. "First, the robust industrial ecosystem here, with a well-developed biomedical and high-end medical equipment industry cluster and nationally leading policy support. Second, the vast regional coverage potential, as a core hub in the Greater Bay Area enabling efficient coverage of South China and cross-border healthcare needs. Third, the efficient business environment, where the government provides full-chain services from project approval to industry matching."

The Perennial Group representative stated that in the future, leveraging Guangzhou Development District's biomedical policies and industry chain advantages, they will focus on advancing cooperation in three key areas:

In terms of technical collaboration, partnering with local pharmaceutical and medical device companies to jointly build clinical translation platforms.
In talent exchange, planning to collaborate with local universities to cultivate internationalized medical teams.
In payment innovation, exploring pilots for commercial insurance and cross-border medical insurance settlements.

Domestic enterprises are conquering core technologies and overtaking on the curve, while external leaders are increasing investments and making successive investments. These enterprises form complementary relationships. An industry chain covering everything from R&D tool supply and innovative drug R&D to clinical testing and commercialized production is gradually taking shape in Guangzhou Development District and Huangpu District, constituting an industrial ecosystem where large, medium, and small enterprises integrate and develop together.

Reprinted from Guangzhou Huangpu Release