NFCR Leads Delegation to Chinese BioMed Conference, Signs MOU with Host
The National Foundation for Cancer Research, led by Chairman Joseph F. Franlin and President Sujuan Ba, recruited a delegation of eight U.S. cancer technology start-ups for a successful exploratory mission to China. The companies—ArrayBio, Eutropics, Immix Biopharma, InterLeukin Therapeutics, International Cancer Impact Fund, InVaMet Therapeutics, Nonpareil Biotechnologies and Stromatis Pharma—were each featured in the U.S. Innovative Oncology Companies in China Showcase, a four-hour session co-organized and presented by NFCR and the China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association (PhIRDA).
The Showcase was a highlight of the 2017 China BioMed Innovation and Investment Conference, CBIIC, held in the city of Suzhou from October 29th through 31st. It was co-hosted by PhIRDA, the Securities Association of China and the China Association for Medical Devices Industry. In only the Conference’s second year, the event attracted over 400 pharmaceutical and medical device companies and 300 investors from China, the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Middle East, as well as multiple national and cross-border bio-health industry organizations.
During the CBIIC opening ceremony, Mr. Franlin and PhIRDA Annual Chairman Lieming Ding signed a memorandum of understanding promoting future cross-border collaboration on clinical trials, research, funding and commercialization between the two organizations. While the day-two U.S. Innovative Oncology Companies in China Showcase, in addition to including 20 minute pitches apiece by the eight NFCR-recruited companies, also featured speeches by Mr. Franlin, Dr. Ba, Novocure Chairman William Doyle and a keynote address by J.P. Morgan Managing Director of Healthcare Investment Banking Philip Ross.
The Suzhou visit also included visits to the local operations of two of China’s most dynamic and rapidly emerging biopharmaceutical companies, Adagene and Ascentage Pharma, as well as a tour of Bio Bay, an industrial park for bio and nanotechnology companies. Separate closed-door sessions too were conducted by NFCR’s leadership with PhIRDA Executive President Mr. Ruilin Song and Vice Minister Yixin Zeng of the National Health and Family Planning Commission.
Says NFCR Chief Strategy Officer Michael Wang upon the NFCR delegation’s return from the visit, “tangible follow-on programming between the Foundation and PhIRDA is expected to pave the way for enhanced cross-border cooperation between the cancer research communities of the U.S. and China.”
