Qidong Life and Health Sci-Tech City. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

Qidong, Jiangsu province, is rapidly emerging as a key hub in China's biopharmaceutical sector by closely integrating with Shanghai's high-end resources. Leveraging its geographical proximity to the metropolis, Qidong is embedding itself deeply into the industrial chain of Shanghai's Zhangjiang Pharma Valley.

To accelerate growth, Qidong established the Qidong Life and Health Technology Park in October 2019 and the Qidong Life and Health Industrial Park in April 2020. These parks align with Zhangjiang's standards in infrastructure and policy and form a full-cycle chain encompassing R&D, green production, comprehensive services, and health management.

In 2023, Qidong strengthened its link with Shanghai by launching the Qidong (Shanghai) Collaborative Innovation Center in the heart of Zhangjiang Science City. The center aims to connect innovation and industry resources between Shanghai and Qidong, with R&D in Shanghai and production in Qidong.

Over 80 percent of new life and health projects in Qidong have originated in Shanghai.

Since settling in Qidong in 2016, the East China Institute of Life Sciences of Peking University has attracted 45 PhD-level talents and supported the growth of eight alumni-founded enterprises. It has been recognized as a provincial and national tech incubator, offering services including gene editing, continuous flow process development, testing (CMA-certified), and functional food R&D.

Meanwhile, major pharmaceutical players are expanding in the city. Bayer is investing 750 million yuan ($104.02 million) in a new supply center expected to produce 1.4 billion oral solid tablets annually. Cdymax is also building a 170 million yuan anti-cancer drug production base, which is set to be operational by September.

Today, Qidong's biopharma sector includes nearly 100 enterprises, from leading names like WuXi AppTec and Bayer to rising R&D startups. With 18 drug producers, 18 medical device firms, 13 R&D institutions, and over 50 biotech startups under incubation, the city has established a complete industrial chain — from lab research to full-scale production — positioning itself as a dynamic force in China's life sciences landscape.