Beijing transforms industry prowess

Inside a former hardware factory in Beijing's Haidian district, space once occupied by metalworking machinery will soon accommodate fermenters, enzyme-reaction vessels and purification lines designed to move the production of complex glycans from laboratory development toward commercial use.

The plant is being built by Health-Syn Biotechnology (Beijing) Co Ltd, a startup developing human milk oligosaccharides, complex glycans naturally found in human milk. Jiao Siming, founder and chief executive officer of the startup, described it as a "small but complete" demonstration facility where customers can see the production process and research teams can access pilot-scale testing services.

The facility is taking shape at Jinnovation Park-Coresci, a park converted from a former hardware factory dating back to 1958. Workshops once used for conventional hardware production are now being adapted to support research and development, pilot-scale testing and small-batch production across four fields: biomanufacturing, high-end medical equipment, advanced materials and embodied intelligence.

As HealthSyn moves from laboratory research toward commercial production, the former hardware factory is taking on a new role as a base for emerging and future industries. Together, their transformations illustrate China's efforts to strengthen links between R&D, pilot-scale testing and industrial application.

China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) calls for building a full-chain system to foster future industries and developing fields, such as biomanufacturing and embodied intelligence, into new growth drivers.

Jinnovation Park-Coresci provides startups with support throughout their development, including flexible space for R&D and pilot production, shared technical platforms, regulatory and clinical assistance, industry connections and access to financing.

Under plans announced in 2025, China aims to cultivate more than 20 pilot-scale testing platforms for biomanufacturing by 2027, with the goal of serving over 200 enterprises and incubating over 400 products.

Pilot-scale testing serves as an intermediate step between laboratory development and large-scale industrial production. The planned platforms will focus on key product areas including food and food additives, biopharmaceutical products, cosmetics, chemicals, energy and enzyme preparations, while promoting collaborative innovation along industrial chains.

Drawing on about five years of scale-up work by its founding team, HealthSyn plans to open the facility as a shared pilot-scale testing platform, using its equipment and dedicated staff to help research teams test processes and move toward factory production, Jiao said.

At the local level, Beijing introduced measures in 2025 to strengthen contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) platforms, provide earlier regulatory support and encourage medical institutions and companies to establish medical device training and application demonstration centers.

Beijing Shuimu Dongfang Medical Technology Co Ltd, another incoming tenant, operates a medical device CDMO platform.

Chen Xi, deputy general manager of the company, said medical robot projects often stall because research teams lack suitable facilities, process expertise, regulatory knowledge and access to clinical resources. The platform combines contract development and manufacturing services with validation facilities, connections to clinical institutions and regulatory support, to address these gaps.

HealthSyn's planned pilot-scale testing platform and Shuimu Dongfang's medical device CDMO platform are expected to anchor the park's efforts to attract companies, projects and talent along biomanufacturing and medical device industrial chains.

XINHUA-CHINA DAILY