On October 28, the China Biotechnology Development Center under the Ministry of Science and Technology officially released the “2018 Analysis Report on the Current Status of Development of China’s Biopharmaceutical Industrial Parks.” According to the report, in recent years China’s biopharmaceutical industry has continued to expand in scale, with the share of biopharmaceutical output in the overall pharmaceutical industry steadily increasing. In 2017, the total value of the national biopharmaceutical industry reached approximately RMB 3.8 trillion. Of this amount, the combined output value of biopharmaceuticals in national-level high-tech industrial development zones and national-level economic and technological development zones totaled about RMB 1.46 trillion, an increase of RMB 0.34 trillion compared with 2015, accounting for 38.42% of the nation’s total biopharmaceutical output.
The Report points out that the biopharmaceutical industry is developing in a clustered manner, with national-level high-tech zones and national-level economic development zones serving as the core platforms for its growth in China. In 2017, the output value of the biopharmaceutical industry in these zones reached RMB 1.21 trillion and RMB 0.23 trillion, respectively, accounting for 22.48% and 9.63% of the total industrial output of their respective parks.
According to the Report, the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone, Shanghai Zhangjiang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Suzhou Industrial Park, and Jinan High-Tech Industrial Development Zone rank in the top five on the national comprehensive competitiveness ranking of biopharmaceutical industrial parks. Among them, the Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone ranks first in overall competitiveness, industrial strength, and leading-enterprise competitiveness, thereby taking the lead nationwide among biopharmaceutical industrial parks; the Shanghai Zhangjiang High-Tech Industrial Development Zone ranks first in technological competitiveness and boasts strong performance in industry, talent, environment, and leading-enterprise capabilities; and the Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Industrial Development Zone ranks first in talent competitiveness.
At present, Hubei Province has preliminarily established an industrial development pattern characterized by “one core area and eight parks.” Led by the brand effect of the Wuhan National Bio-Industry Base and its role in radiating and driving the province’s bio-industry, this “1+8” coordinated development model is supported by eight regional bio-industrial parks located in Yichang, Jingmen, Shiyan, Tianmen, Huangshi, Xiantao, Huanggang, and Ezhou. Each park has distinctive development features, complementary industrial functions, and differentiated production layouts, thereby giving rise to the “Hubei Model” of robust bio-industry growth. Notably, the total output value of the bio-industrial parks in Tianmen, Huanggang, Ezhou, and Jingmen has exceeded RMB 10 billion.
“The bioindustry has emerged as the province’s fastest-growing, most distinctive, most dynamic, best-supported, and talent-concentrated strategic emerging industry,” said a relevant official from the East Lake High-tech Industrial Development Zone in Wuhan. According to the goals set forth in the 13th Five-Year Plan for Bioindustry Development, in 2017 the province’s bioindustry recorded total industrial output value of RMB 228.725 billion (excluding bioagriculture), representing a year-on-year increase of 15.9%. In the first eight months of 2018, the province’s bioindustry achieved total industrial output value of approximately RMB 170 billion, maintaining the rapid growth trend observed since the start of the 13th Five-Year Plan and continuing to make significant contributions to the province’s sustained economic development.
