Participants pose for a photo after the meeting. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Nantong in Jiangsu province convened a meeting on Dec 10 for representatives from multinational corporations, business associations, and venture capital funds in the life and health industry.

The biopharmaceutical industry is one of Nantong's six strategic emerging industries. The city has successively introduced internationally renowned companies engaged in the industry such as Merck and Bayer and nurtured a group of leading local enterprises including Biocytogen and Bioda. A well-defined, distinctive, and well-supported spatial layout for the biopharmaceutical industry has taken shape in Nantong.

This has resulted in the formation of a relatively complete industrial chain covering chemical drugs, raw materials, traditional Chinese medicine, biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and auxiliary packaging materials.

Currently, Nantong is focusing on building a high-end biopharmaceutical industry base in the Yangtze River Delta and becoming a "health city for all ages", increasing market prospects and space for cooperation for health and life science enterprises.

Zheng Junwei, vice-chairman of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment and chairman of the Biotechnology Innovation Committee, stated that Nantong is an important city in YRD with unique geographical advantages and a solid industrial base.

He expressed hopes that foreign enterprises will seek cooperation opportunities in Nantong, and that the foreign investment association will strengthen cooperation with the city in order to jointly promote the high-quality development of the local biopharmaceutical industry.

During the meeting, representatives from MNCs and institutions such as GlaxoSmithKline, Medtronic, Merck, and Johnson & Johnson said that they were impressed by Nantong's business-friendly and livable environment and investment climate, expressing strong interest in further exploring the biopharmaceutical industry in the city.