The 23rd China Biological Products Annual Conference (CBioPC2024) opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on May 16.

CBioPC2024 opens in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on May 16. [Photo/sinopharm.com]

Zhao Bingxiang, deputy secretary of the Party committee and general manager of China National Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd (Sinopharm), delivered an opening speech at the event.

In his address, Zhao highlighted the pivotal role of the biopharmaceutical industry in the 21st century, emphasizing its significance to public welfare and national security as a strategic emerging and future-oriented industry.

Zhao Bingxiang, deputy secretary of the Party committee and general manager of Sinopharm, delivers an opening speech at CBioPC2024 on May 16. [Photo/sinopharm.com]

Zhao noted the substantial advancements in China's biopharmaceutical sector in recent years, citing improvements in scale, independent innovation, integration capabilities and biosecurity. He stressed the increasing importance of bio products in elevating the quality of life and safeguarding human health.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it is a crucial year for achieving the goals of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25). Zhao reiterated Sinopharm's commitment to implementing the innovation-driven development strategy, increasing research and development investment and strengthening its scientific teams.

The company will give full play to its role in technological innovation, industry control and security support as a central State-owned enterprise and enhance technical exchanges and collaborations with industry insiders to build a modern pharmaceutical system, develop new quality productive forces and contribute to the Healthy China initiative, Zhao said.

The event also included opening speeches delivered by notable figures such as Zhong Nanshan, recipient of the Medal of the Republic and an academician with the Chinese Academy of Engineering; Zhang Hui, deputy director-general of the National Institutes for Food and Drug Control; and Shao Jingbo, deputy director of Guangzhou Development District's administrative committee.

The event, co-hosted by the China Association for Vaccines, the Biological Products Division of the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association, the Vaccine Professional Committee of the China Medicinal Biotech Association and the Biological Products Professional Committee of the Chinese Society for Microbiology, attracted more than 8,000 participants. These included representatives of government departments, regulatory agencies, industry associations, domestic and international biopharmaceutical fields, research institutes and enterprises.