China Focus: Innovation hub in China's Shenzhen helps fast-track new biotech material commercialization

This file photo shows an exterior view of the Shenzhen Industrial Innovation Center for Engineering Biology in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Shenzhen Industrial Innovation Center for Engineering Biology/Handout via Xinhua)

SHENZHEN, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- How far does a synthetic bio-material travel from lab idea to market product? For Zhong Chao, founder of PAM2L Biotechnologies, it's a journey of just two floors.

At the 26th China High-Tech Fair held last month, PAM2L Biotechnologies unveiled a medical-grade bio-material that accelerates wound healing and has wide-ranging applications in medical aesthetics.

Zhong explained that the core ingredient of this material is mussel adhesive protein, which can effectively help cell migration and wound repair, while also possessing anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions to maintain the health of the skin barrier.

By combining synthetic biology and artificial intelligence technology, the company uses genetically modified bacteria to produce mussel adhesive protein through fermentation, obtaining 2,000 grams in just two days. In the past, it took about 20 million mussels to extract the same amount of such protein.

"I came up with the idea of synthesizing mussel adhesive protein three years ago. After six months of lab experiments and two years of pilot testing, the protein is now gaining traction in the market," Zhong told Xinhua.

He attributes the rapid commercialization of technology in large part to an innovation hub in Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province that caters to the needs of synthetic biology startups.

The Shenzhen Industrial Innovation Center for Engineering Biology spans eight floors, offering over 4,600 square meters of office space and more than 7,300 square meters of labs and workshop areas, designed to meet the diverse needs of startups and research institutions at every stage of development.

While pursuing his research at the Institute of Synthetic Biology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhong envisioned turning his expertise into a business. In July 2021, he took the leap and established his company in the innovation hub.

Each morning, he would arrive at the Institute of Synthetic Biology's laboratory on the seventh floor to begin his research for the day.

In the afternoon, he would spend two hours at his company on the fifth floor addressing technical issues related to commercial production. Although the two teams operated independently, their frequent communication significantly shortened the time between research and industrial application.

Zhong said that instruments used in synthetic biology often cost at least 5 million yuan (about 690,000 U.S. dollars), which is too expensive for startups. However, companies in the innovation hub can access R&D platforms and equipment at a fraction of the market price, significantly reducing both initial costs and development time.

According to him, interaction between scientists and entrepreneurs is very important. Sometimes a chance encounter in the hallway or a casual coffee chat can spark new ideas or help solve a challenging problem.

Synthetic biology can be understood as the engineering of biology, with broad prospects in biomedicine, agriculture, food production and so on. Synthetic biology startups often go through the stages of "from 0 to 1" -- the transformation and application of research results, "from 1 to 10" -- pilot test production, and "from 10 to 100" -- mass production for the market.

Zhong's company has made rapid progress. In August 2022, it moved from the innovation hub to an industrial park, also managed by the Shenzhen Industrial Innovation Center for Engineering Biology, located just a 20-minute drive away, where it set up a pilot test workshop.

In January 2023, the company announced that it had secured more than 100 million yuan in Pre-A financing.

In August 2024, a new cosmetic material featuring mussel adhesive protein as its key ingredient passed the review of China's National Medical Products Administration and was listed in the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) system by the Personal Care Products Council of the United States. With these milestones, Zhong's idea is now poised to enter the cosmetics market.

His company is just one of many success stories emerging from the innovation hub in Shenzhen. Today, the hub is home to nearly 50 biotech companies that have collectively raised almost 3 billion yuan in funding, with a total commercial valuation exceeding 30 billion yuan.

In recent years, China has continued to promote the integration of sci-tech innovation with industrial development. According to a key resolution adopted in July at the third plenum of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, the country will implement a series of measures to deepen the reform of the science and technology system, including coordinating the building of various science and innovation platforms, encouraging and regulating the development of new types of research and development institutions.

The resolution also called for promoting the integrated development of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation, strengthening the principal position of enterprises in sci-tech innovation, and enhancing the deep integration of industry, university and research led by enterprises.

According to Luo Wei, director of the Shenzhen Industrial Innovation Center for Engineering Biology, the innovation hub supports researchers in carrying out original innovation and tackling core technology challenges, and provides industrial incubation space, shared experimental platforms and think-tank support for synthetic biology startups.

This incubation mechanism supports startups, which often lack the necessary facilities and technical platforms, by integrating research, industry, funding and talent into an innovative ecosystem. This approach significantly shortens the cycle from original innovation to industrial transformation, Luo said. ■