The Beijing People’s Government has issued an “Action Plan” outlining measures and targets to “Accelerate Collaborative Innovation in Medicine and Health” over a three-year period from 2024 to 2026. Many of these measures were previously outlined in a draft document reported in April 2024.
The plan sets an ambitious goal for Beijing’s pharmaceutical and health industry to reach a total scale of RMB 1.25 trillion (USD 172 billion) by 2026. Within this, the pharmaceutical industry operating revenues are expected to reach RMB 240 billion (USD 33 billion), with fixed asset investments exceeding RMB 10 billion (USD 1.4 billion) annually.
Other targets for 2026 include achieving 5-8 global scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs, with 10 newly approved innovative drugs and 30 innovative medical devices. Additionally, the establishment of 1-2 research-oriented hospitals and the cultivation of over 10,000 multi-level professional talents are planned.
The municipal medical and health industry investment fund aims to leverage RMB 20 billion (USD 2.8 billion) in social risk investment annually, targeting 10 high-quality industry parks. This is expected to enhance the industrial carrying capacity and accelerate the formation of modern pharmaceutical and health industry clusters with global influence.
The document lists 34 key tasks for the development of Beijing’s pharmaceutical and life sciences industry from 2024 to 2026, including the construction of national laboratories, improving research quality, strengthening industrial support, and promoting digital empowerment. Strategic targets include enhanced translation medicine, respiratory diseases, infectious diseases, gene storage applications, RNA, brain-computer interfaces, and synthetic biology.
The development of heavyweight drugs with new targets and mechanisms in fields such as inflammation and infectious diseases will be promoted, with a goal of 30 large generics generating at least RMB 1 billion (USD 140 million) in annual sales.
The document proposes multiple indicators and support policies for innovative research and development (R&D). It calls for the construction of 5-10 research bases combining basic and clinical research and promotes cooperation between medical enterprises. The initiation time of clinical trials should be reduced to within 25 weeks, and mutual recognition of medical ethics review results should be extended across the city. The municipality will establish a clinical trial information platform for “one network access” and promote the inclusion of research-oriented hospitals within the national medical insurance system.
The document also focuses on promoting the clinical application of innovative pharmaceuticals and devices. It aims to improve the efficiency of evaluation and customs clearance and allow innovative medical devices to be declared for new medical service price items at any time to accelerate hospital admission. The “dual channel” pilot program for drugs will be expanded to include non-nationally negotiated drugs. Around 1-2 hospitals will be selected to carry out artificial intelligence medical device pilot projects.
Promotion of coordinated procurement across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is also planned. The government aims to attract 3-5 multinational enterprises to establish operations and incubate cutting-edge research within Beijing. There should be no less than 5 high-quality pharmaceutical outsourcing service platforms both domestically and internationally. Beijing will also introduce no less than three internationally renowned professional incubators and accelerators, alongside land for factories. Finally, the city will strengthen the industrial leading areas such as Haidian District, Daxing District, Changping District, and Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone, and build a “four core and multi-point” industrial pattern.- Flcube.com
