The China Pharmaceutical Industry Development Conference 2024 and the International Biopharma Industry Week Shanghai took place at the Zhangjiang Science Hall in the city on Nov 16.

The China Pharmaceutical Industry Development Conference 2024 and the International Biopharma Industry Week Shanghai open at the Zhangjiang Science Hall in Shanghai on Nov 16, 2024. [Photo/sinopharm.com]

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chen Jining, Party secretary of Shanghai, highlighted the city’s role as a birthplace of China’s modern pharmaceutical industry. Shanghai will make every effort to build a world-class biopharmaceutical industry cluster and make greater contributions to driving industrial innovation and improving global health security, said Chen.

Jin Zhuanglong, China's minister of industry and information technology, underscored the central government’s strong focus on pharmaceutical industry development and the importance of developing more medicines tailored to the genetic and physiological characteristics of the Chinese population.

He pledged that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will accelerate the establishment of a modern pharmaceutical industry system to better meet people’s health needs.

Zhao Bingxiang, general manager of Sinopharm, delivers a keynote speech at the main forum on Nov 16, 2024. [Photo/sinopharm.com]

Zhao Bingxiang, general manager of China National Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd (Sinopharm), delivered a keynote speech titled “High-quality Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry Empowered by New Quality Productive Forces” at the main forum. 

The ongoing technological revolution and industrial transformation present historic opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces, Zhao said in his speech.

He proposed a comprehensive approach to high-quality growth in the pharmaceutical sector, focusing on four key areas: industrial security, technological innovation, structural optimization and openness to collaboration.

Zhao shared Sinopharm’s initiatives to foster new quality productive forces, highlighting the group’s commitment to the path of new industrialization with Chinese characteristics and its “4+1” strategic framework. Sinopharm has been accelerating the upgrade of traditional industries while nurturing emerging strategic sectors, he said.

He also expressed the group’s readiness to collaborate with industry peers to build a modern pharmaceutical industrial system, foster new quality productive forces and make greater contributions to the Healthy China 2030 Initiative.