In October 2023, Yili Chuanning Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Chuanning Biotechnology") disclosed the third quarter report, saying that the company continued its previous performance growth. In the first three quarters of 2023, it achieved an operating income of 3.581 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.83%, and a net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of 640 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 92.65%.
It is noteworthy that Ruikang Bio-Shanghai Research Institute of Chuanning Bio-Fundraising Project has delivered products such as bisabolol and 5- hydroxytryptophan to the company through independent research and development, among which bisabolol product is the first synthetic biological product of Chuanning Bio.
Ruikang biology research and development building
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chuanning Bio, the "young" Shanghai Ruikang Biotechnology R&D Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ruikang Bio") was incorporated in Shanghai Lingang New District in October 2020 and officially opened on May 16, 2021. The company is positioned as a high-end R&D innovation center for synthetic bio-manufacturing, and has invested nearly 300 million yuan.
Create a blue ocean and a synthetic biotechnology ecosystem.
Ruikang Bio-technology adopts cutting-edge synthetic biology technology, supplemented by automatic, intelligent and Qualcomm bio-casting equipment, to develop high value-added products. The products mainly focus on high value-added biomedical active ingredients and raw materials of natural chemicals, and have developed a number of efficient chassis bacteria and enzyme libraries with millions of independent IP. "The core R&D personnel come from well-known R&D institutions and enterprises at home and abroad and have many years of working experience in the synthetic biology industry." Zhao Hua, general manager of Ruikang Bio, is full of confidence.
"What I remember most about the company’s growth is the first product from product selection to R&D delivery and mass production." Zhao Hua admits that at the beginning of the company’s establishment, the company’s leadership repeatedly told R&D personnel that "the original intention of establishing Ruikang Bio was to empower Chuanning Bio with synthetic biotechnology, and to create the company’s second growth curve with new products of synthetic bio; At the same time, we will use our R&D resources to serve our peers, create an ecological circle and create a blue ocean together. " Therefore, the selection of the first product and the efficient delivery of R&D are very important for Ruikang Bio, and it must be ensured that it will be a hit. Zhao Hua realized that this can not only show the innovative strength of the company’s synthetic biology to the outside world, but also bring economic benefits to the company, and also greatly boost the company’s confidence in entering the synthetic biology manufacturing.
Zhao Hua introduced that since the establishment of the company, all R&D personnel kept in mind the entrustment, turned pressure into motivation, took out the determination and action of "falling on the road of charging" and worked efficiently at ordinary times. In special periods, the main R&D personnel of the project and the support personnel from the head office came to Shanghai to live in the company, and made concerted efforts to deliver and mass-produce the project on schedule, and broke the technological monopoly of large foreign companies.
"The timely delivery of the first product not only achieved the above effect, but more importantly, it exercised the confidence of the R&D team and R&D personnel to do challenging projects, and also verified the chairman’s repeated proposal that’ successful genes can be inherited’." In this way, Ruikang Bio has completed the development of a number of new synthetic biological products ranging from 0 to 100 in two years, and the related products will produce an output value of 100 million yuan in the production base.
Seize the opportunity under the trillion-dollar market and take advantage of the situation
"Generally speaking, synthetic biotechnology compares cells to factories, and produces the products we want by reconstructing the existing production units or new production units introduced from abroad-genes or metabolic pathways." Zhao Hua believes that compared with the traditional production methods, synthetic bio-manufacturing has the characteristics of green, low carbon, high efficiency and conforms to ESG concept, and has a broad application scenario, which has been gradually applied to chemicals, medicine, food, health, energy, new materials and other fields.
In fact, synthetic bio-manufacturing has replaced the traditional mode of production in some industries, and has brought subversive effects. It is a future technology that will affect and change our mode of production and lifestyle. "Synthetic bio-manufacturing is a trillion-dollar market and a hot spot of current investment and financing." Zhao Hua is very optimistic about the future of synthetic biology manufacturing: "In recent years, developed countries such as Europe and the United States have attached great importance to synthetic biology technology and have introduced measures to support the development of synthetic biology and synthetic biology manufacturing enterprises. The Chinese government has also attached great importance to synthetic biology manufacturing and listed it as a new and future industry to ensure the high-quality development of China’s economy in the new era." The blessing of the policy makes Zhao Hua firmly believe that the future of synthetic biology manufacturing is bright.
Automatic and intelligent Qualcomm strain construction and screening platform
Ruikang Biological seized the opportunity and took advantage of the situation. "At present, the company uses advanced synthetic biotechnology and intelligent and automated synthetic biological equipment to build the future industry, focusing on the synthetic biological manufacturing of high value-added biomedical active ingredients and high-end chemicals. In the field of biomedical active ingredients, the company has developed a green production technology for synthetic biology to replace the traditional chemical synthesis, and has achieved mass production of products of tens of kilograms; In the field of high-end chemical protection products, the company focuses on natural active ingredients from plants, and replaces traditional chemical synthesis and plant extraction with green, advanced and low-cost synthetic biotechnology, achieving a breakthrough in technology, and the products are mass-produced in tons, breaking the monopoly of large foreign companies on the technology and market of this product. " Zhao Hua’s plan for the company is very clear.
High-quality talents and the "two-way trip" of high-tech industry
As a synthetic bio-manufacturing enterprise, Ruikang Bio’s three innovations in technical means, production methods and management modes are the problems that the enterprise must face in its development, and the key to solving these innovative problems is talents. "As we all know, innovation is an important means for enterprises to cross the economic downturn cycle, and it is the key support and guarantee for the high-quality development of China’s economy at present. There is no innovation and no future for enterprise development, and the main body of innovation is talents." It is not difficult to see Zhao Hua’s emphasis on talents. For this reason, Ruikang Bio pays attention to R&D and actively creates an atmosphere of R&D supremacy. Under the instructions of the leaders of the head office, it has also introduced various innovative incentive systems to attract and retain talents, linking performance contribution with personal income.
"In addition to regular awards such as R&D project delivery award and key milestone award, the company has introduced incentive systems such as’ partners’ for R&D personnel, and has also introduced new measures to help company talents live and work in Lingang New Area." This is the "two-way trip" between talents and Ruikang Bio. The implementation of these measures has achieved initial results. On the one hand, the company has retained real talents, stimulated the entrepreneurial passion of talent officers, and ensured the company’s research and development to deliver new synthetic biological products continuously and efficiently; In addition, it has gradually formed a positive impact in the industry, attracting external talents to join Ruikang Bio to innovate and start businesses together.
In the next few years, the development of Ruikang Bio will adhere to the long-term values of ESG concept, and product research and development will focus on core application areas to deliver more green, low-carbon and cost-competitive new processes and products. In addition, "synthetic biotechnology itself is constantly iterating and developing. To ensure that the company’s R&D has always been at the forefront of the industry and will not be subverted by new technologies, we must be brave enough to accept and apply new technologies, and closely combine generative AI with synthetic bio-manufacturing, so as to take the lead in AI for Science." Zhao Hua said that Ruikang Bio’s medium and long-term goal is to develop into a head enterprise in the field of synthetic bio-manufacturing with international vision and global competitiveness under the dual-wheel drive of "synthetic bio-production" and "scale fermentation". (Image provided by the interviewee)