"The event is expected to provide a high-level platform for experts from the academic, educational, financial and manufacturing fields and governmental officials to exchange opinions on the development of the biological industry," said a spokesman for the forum's organizing committee.

It will also act as a bridge between patent holders with investors, and professional personnel with enterprises, he said.

Over 1,500 people from China and abroad will attend the two-day forum.

Well-known figures from the fields of biological technology and manufacturing have been invited to address the forum, which will become an important annual event for the biological and pharmaceutical industry.

The TEDA Biology Forum is being organized based on the International Annual Meeting of TEDA-Watson Biological and Pharmaceutical Technology held in the last two years.

The gatherings played a vital role in promoting academic exchanges between Chinese and foreign experts, accelerating the industrial implementation of technological research, strengthening Sino-foreign cooperation in research and production, and urging the government to draw policies conducive to the development of biological technology, he said.

The biological medicine sector is a pillar industry in TEDA, one of China's 49 State-level development zones.

The area's administration wants to develop TEDA into a key center for the industrial implementation of biological technology research results and the manufacturing of new products in China over the next 10 years.

There are 65 pharmaceutical enterprises in the area which involve a total investment of US$710 million. International pharmaceutical giants including GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Novozymes, Novo Nordisk, Tanabe Seiyaku and Servier have a presence in the area.

"These enterprises have become backbones of the biological pharmaceutical industry in the development area," said An Xiaogang, a TEDA official.

Tianjin offers great potential for the development of the pharmaceutical industry, with its rich supply of raw materials and professional personnel.

Over half of China's large and medium-sized pharmaceutical companies and related firms are located in TEDA and its neighbouring areas.

About two thirds of China's State-level biological technology research institutions have established centers or bases in the area.

The administration invests 1 percent of its annual budget in the TEDA Science and Technology Venture Funds to encourage investment, with about 4 percent going to research institutions and high-tech enterprises in the area, An told China Daily.

"At present, as the global pharmaceutical industry is moving its R&D and manufacturing facilities to China, TEDA will spare no efforts to take the opportunity to attract large pharmaceutical projects into the area," An said.

The administration is targeting European pharmaceutical enterprises using raw materials from China, medicine producers in Tianjin planning to build their second base in the development area and enterprises from economically backward areas of China seeking development opportunities in North China.

"We have a clear view of our own advantages and will not blindly pursue high grade and top level firms in the development of the area's pharmaceutical industry," An said.

The development will emphasize on increasing the number of efficient enterprises and sharpening their competitive edge, he said.

According to the TEDA administration's plan, the area is expected to become a center for the exchange of biological technology research results by 2005, and two or three new medical products will annually be put into production in the area.

TEDA will make efforts to fulfill one or two State-level key pharmaceutical research projects a year. The output value of new products is expected to account for 70 percent of the total for the pharmaceutical industry in the area.

By 2005, the final year of the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), the number of pharmaceutical enterprises is expected to grow from the current 65 to 90 in the area, among them, three or four are expected to have an annual output value exceeding 100 million yuan (US$12 million) for each, two or three exceeding 300 million yuan (US$36 million), and one over 500 million yuan (US$60 million). The number of such enterprises is expected to reach 15, eight and five respectively in the next Five-Year Plan period (2006-10), An said.

The total output value of the pharmaceutical industry in the area is targeted to reach 13.2 billion yuan (US$1.59 billion) by 2010.

Over the next 20 years, TEDA will both introduce projects from abroad and develop existing enterprises in the area, said Pi Qiansheng, an official of the Tianjin Municipal Government.

To guarantee financial support to the pharmaceutical sector, the TEDA administration has injected 100 million yuan (US$12 million) in establishing an investment company. The company is expected to own 500 million yuan (US$60 million) in capital in five years.

Technology research projects will be the focus for the financial support. About 100 million yuan (US$12 million) will be put in purchasing instruments and equipment for research institutes in the area.

Pharmaceutical enterprises in the area are being encouraged to cooperate with multinational companies and contract research organizations (CROs) from the United States and Europe to develop new medicines, Pi said.

(China Daily October 21, 2004)