The Shanghai municipal government has released a set of policies and measures aimed at accelerating the establishment of Shanghai as a global biomedical R&D economy and industrialization hub. The initiative seeks to provide improved guidance for financial funding and social capital, enhancing the total economic contribution from biomedical research and development (R&D) in the city. The policy represents a five-year plan, effective from October 31, 2022, to October 30, 2027.
Development Goals
The Shanghai government has set several development goals within the document. By 2025, the city aims to shape its global biopharmaceutical R&D economy and industrialization hub, with an overall R&D economy size reaching over RMB 100 billion (USD 13.95 billion). The plan includes cultivating or introducing more than 100 innovative drugs and medical devices, establishing over 50 innovative company headquarters, and fostering more than 20 high-level biomedical incubators and accelerators. The city also aims to promote over 1,000 biomedical patents to be listed and traded in Shanghai, add more than 5 municipal biomedical engineering research centers, and support the translation of at least 100 high-quality research projects from universities and research institutes. By 2030, Shanghai’s position as a global biopharmaceutical R&D economy and industrialization hub will be further strengthened, with increased overall scale and the emergence of innovative drugs and medical devices.
Innovation Infrastructure
The Shanghai Municipal Development & Reform Commission, Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality (STCSM), Shanghai Municipal Health Commission, and others will collaborate to enhance the layout of innovation infrastructure and clinical resource application. This includes contributions from strategic scientific and technological entities such as national major scientific and technological infrastructure and port laboratories. The city will focus on key fields such as synthetic biology, gene editing, stem cell and regenerative medicine, cell therapy and gene therapy, and artificial intelligence-aided drug design. It will establish several municipal science and technology major projects and major strategic emerging industry projects, support leading enterprises to build municipal engineering research centers with universities and research institutes, and strengthen cooperation between production, teaching, and research.
Financial Support and Talent Policies
Shanghai will relax previous restrictions on financial support for innovative drugs and medical devices, allowing products registered locally to out-license manufacturing outside the city while still receiving financial support. The city will also vigorously introduce and cultivate innovative headquarters, provide tiered rewards, and support the transition of multi-functional R&D headquarters from R&D centers. Qualified employees will benefit from facilitation policies such as talent settlement and entry and exit convenience.
Intellectual Property and Innovation
The document encourages the translation of scientific research achievements and supports the construction of university biomedical R&D and translational medicine platforms. The government will encourage biomedical intellectual property rights licensing deals, with the Shanghai Technology Exchange setting up a “biomedical section” to support technology transfers. The city will explore the patent open licensing system for universities, research institutes, and medical and health institutions, improving the efficiency of scientific and technological achievements translation.
Market Access and Review
Shanghai will promote the listing and use of innovative drugs and medical devices, improving the speed of review and approval for innovative products. It will actively recommend innovative drugs for inclusion in the National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) and accelerate hospital access for innovative products. The city will also refine the recommendation mechanism for innovative medical devices to be included in commercial medical insurance, encouraging high-value devices not covered by NRDL but with significant clinical use to apply for inclusion in the “HuHuiBao” specific high-value drug insurance liability coverage.-Fineline Info & Tech
