(Yicai) Jan. 13 -- Shanghai has established a joint China-United States-Japan laboratory in the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone to help Chinese biomedical companies expand internationally.

Wailianfa Business Consulting is the main organizer of the ULab laboratory group, which includes the ULab Gaoyue Joint Laboratory in Shanghai, the ULab Seaknit Kobe Joint Laboratory in Japan, and the ULab NJS Joint Laboratory in Boston, Yicai learned during a recent seminar held in the Pudong New Area.

The seminar was hosted by the Shanghai Center of Biomedicine Development, Shanghai Pudong Chamber of International Commerce, and Wailianfa, and co-organized by the Cell and Gene Therapy Industry Alliance and Gaoyue Group.

Liu Houjia, director of the Shanghai Center of Biomedicine Development, said that international expansion has become essential for China's innovative drug development. Biomedicine is one of Shanghai's three leading industries, and the eastern city is continuously leveraging its resources and implementing multiple measures to promote innovative drugs and devices internationally through policies and services, Liu added.

Shou Xiaoqi, general manager of Wailianfa, noted that Chinese biopharmaceutical companies face numerous challenges in international expansion, including meeting international standards in clinical trial design, global resource integration, and capital cooperation. Global expansion involves comprehensive competition in technology, resources, capital, and expertise, Shou said, adding that it is necessary to establish new channels for resource-sharing and complementary advantages so that China's innovative drugs can enter broader international markets.

International expansion has become a crucial source of revenue for innovative drug companies. Wang Li, managing director of the investment banking department at Haitong Securities, said that after China's biopharmaceutical industry reached peak financing levels in 2021 in terms of both the number and value of deals, market sentiment has cooled. Biopharmaceutical startups are now facing pressure as securing financing has become increasingly difficult, Wang added.

Editor: Emmi Laine