Jinan Zhuocheng Bio-Tech Co., Ltd.

On October 9, the Chinese government officially released the “Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces” (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinions”), a key policy document outlining the strategic direction for China’s future industrial development.

The document highlights the acceleration of strategic emerging industries, including next-generation information technology, new energy, advanced materials, intelligent connected new energy vehicles, robotics, biopharmaceuticals, high-end equipment manufacturing, and aerospace. It also emphasizes the development of distinctive and complementary industrial clusters based on regional advantages.

By explicitly identifying biopharmaceuticals as a strategic emerging industry requiring further cultivation and expansion, the Opinions establish a top-level policy framework for the future development of China’s biopharmaceutical sector. Together with the upcoming 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry and supporting policies at national and regional levels, a comprehensive policy ecosystem is being formed to guide industry transformation and upgrading.

Innovation as the Core Driver of New Quality Productive Forces

The Opinions focus on advancing new quality productive forces through technological innovation, emphasizing improvements in human health and strengthening original and disruptive scientific breakthroughs.

The document highlights several key priorities:

• Strengthening enterprises as the primary drivers of technological innovation;

• Improving mechanisms for commercialization and industrial application of scientific achievements;

• Expanding long-term investment capital to support innovation;

• Developing future-oriented industries such as biomanufacturing;

• Promoting digital and green transformation of traditional industries.

These initiatives provide fundamental guidance for the transformation and upgrading of the biopharmaceutical industry.

At the same time, the Opinions call for the development of specialized industrial clusters featuring regional advantages and complementary capabilities. This approach aims to promote resource integration, industrial collaboration and efficient division of labor, while reducing inefficient “internal competition” caused by excessive capacity duplication.

This policy direction directly addresses current challenges in emerging biotechnology sectors, including recombinant collagen, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) raw materials and fermentation-based ingredients, where rapid capacity expansion and price competition have become increasingly prominent.

The message from policymakers is clear: future industrial development will no longer rely simply on expanding production capacity. Instead, companies are encouraged to pursue differentiated strategies, cross-regional collaboration and original innovation, shifting from repetitive “copy-and-scale” development toward true “zero-to-one” breakthroughs.

The Pharmaceutical Industry Plan: Translating Strategy into Action

While the Opinions provide a strategic blueprint for developing new quality productive forces, the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Pharmaceutical Industry serves as a concrete roadmap for implementation within the healthcare sector.

The plan sets ambitious development targets, including:

• Pharmaceutical industry enterprises above designated size achieving annual revenue exceeding RMB 3.5 trillion by 2030;

• First-in-class (FIC) innovative drugs accounting for more than 25% of global first launches;

• More than five pharmaceutical products achieving annual global sales exceeding USD 1 billion.

These objectives reflect China’s ambition to move from a model based primarily on incremental improvement and manufacturing scale toward source-driven innovation and global competitiveness.

The plan also emphasizes addressing critical weaknesses in areas such as:

• High-end active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs);

• Advanced pharmaceutical equipment;

• Complex drug formulations.

Meanwhile, China will accelerate development in emerging fields including:

• Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs);

• Cell and gene therapies;

• Peptide microspheres;

• Nucleic acid-based medicines.

At the same time, traditional generic medicines and traditional Chinese medicine products will continue to undergo quality improvement and industrial upgrading.

From Scale Expansion to Innovation Leadership

The alignment between national strategic guidance and sector-specific planning demonstrates that biopharmaceuticals have become a strategic priority in the development of new quality productive forces.

For the industry, the policy direction is increasingly clear:

• Moving away from low-level duplication and price-driven competition;

• Increasing investment in original innovation and frontier technologies;

• Strengthening capabilities across the entire industrial value chain.

For enterprises, sustainable competitiveness will depend on long-term commitment, technological advantages and the ability to create meaningful clinical and commercial value.

Looking ahead, as national strategies are implemented and policy support continues to strengthen, China’s biopharmaceutical industry is expected to accelerate its transition from scale-driven growth to innovation-led development, further enhancing its position in the global pharmaceutical innovation landscape.