Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Campus (I·Campus), an innovation incubation platform co-built by the Wuxi Municipal Government, Wuxi Hi-tech District, and AstraZeneca, signed 12 new innovative companies from home and abroad and secured two innovative partnerships with resident companies at the third China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai on Friday.

It is the second consecutive year for I·Campus to showcase at the expo. At the 3rd CIIE, AstraZeneca's booth showcased the latest innovative offerings from multiple resident companies at I·Campus, including Teddy Lab Services, MiDIVI, LinkDoc, Liangzhun, Omron Healthcare, CHIC Health, Sanomics, UST, Tricog, and HCmed Innovations.

For this year's expo, the Wuxi government, AstraZeneca, Tigermed, CICC, and other companies jointly released the plan of "Wuxi International Health Investment and Innovation Summit," which will accelerate the promotion of the international influence of the Wuxi biomedical industry. I·Campus itself entered strategic cooperation for medical innovation with Sweden's BioVenture Hub, facilitating further industrial integration and development of healthcare innovation.

The announcement comes as the economy continues to bear the impact caused by COVID-19 and many industries scramble to transform, spawning new business models. I·Campus held its opening ceremony in September 2019 and was announced fully operational in April 2020. Despite the pandemic, I·Campus has been able to maintain close ties with domestic and foreign partners through which it has managed to introduce innovative forces into China and empower the growth of its resident companies.

Addressing I·Campus' presence at the CIIE, Leon Wang, AstraZeneca's executive vice president as well as international and China president, said, "The CIIE provides an excellent platform for empowering bilateral innovation exchange and cooperation between domestic and foreign partners. In just one year, I·Campus has signed up more than 30 leading firms from home and abroad and welcomed seven international strategic partners, all thanks to government-enterprise cooperation and the efforts of other stakeholders."

Through this year's CIIE, I·Campus continues to welcome domestic and international innovative forces, including US-based high-tech biotech company UST, alongside Bestudy, LinkDoc, Biortus, Liangzhun Industrial Co., Hainan Medical Science and Technology Co., Leantech, CardioCloud, Zeroad, MiDIVI, Ethicall, and Zhenfu. These innovative newcomers are engaged across numerous vanguard healthcare fields, including R&D of innovative drugs, gene sequencing, wearable tech, big data, and internet-linked hospitals, pushing the boundaries of innovation throughout the healthcare ecosystem.

Additionally, the Wuxi Biomedical Industry Association and CEIBS Alumni Healthcare Industry Association signed to settle in I·Campus, adding to the industrial ecosystem. Wuxi Municipal Bureau of Healthcare and Security as well as Management Committee of Wuxi Hi-tech District also signed a strategic framework agreement to establish a medical bidding and procurement workstation in I·Campus, offering more policy and resource support the incubation of new medicines, medical equipment, and healthcare solutions.

The CCHRPP Wuxi Medical Research and Certification Center was also unveiled at the event, providing further support for the innovative medical ecosystem spanning everything from R&D to industrialization within I·Campus. An external liaison office, the Wuxi Foreign Affairs Office Service Center, was also opened to help attract more outstanding talent, offer foreign affairs advisory to accelerate the internationalization of I·Campus, and to further introduce innovative projects from overseas.

The third CIIE also saw the inauguration of the Wuxi-Europe Life Science Innovation Industrial Campus, which will broaden international cooperation and gather global innovative forces in China. Based on the AstraZeneca's innovation project of iClinic, Zhenfu, and Shenzhi, which are resident companies in Wuxi's and Hangzhou's innovation campuses, signed an agreement at the event to further advance screening services to one million people in the coming year.

Through its role as a powerful enabling platform and leveraging its significant resources, resident companies secured a milestone achievement since I·Campus' official debut last year: CHIC Health, a medical technology company specializing in chronic respiratory diseases, extended the use of its all-in-one respiratory risk screening devices to more than 470 hospitals. They also received first-line USD investment from Teddy Lab Services, which joined I·Campus this April, opened its Wuxi Teddy Lab Services Med Lab just two months later, and became a qualified medical testing laboratory in early August.

Furthermore, Teddy Lab and AstraZeneca signed a cooperation agreement on the joint development and commercialization of companion diagnostics during this year's CIIE. I·Campus is also pushing for increased and deeper cross-sector cooperation for its resident companies. Tumor genetic testing company Sanomics is a case in point, having entered a cooperation with Tencent this July to co-develop an online tumor MDT platform.

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