On December 7, 2021, Wuhan Optics Valley Bio-Innovation Park Phase I project opened, and Phase II project started, which means that the development of Optics Valley Bio-City will expand new space and will better meet the needs of new and expanding companies. Demand, a solid step towards accelerating the creation of a global life and health technology innovation center.

Biological Innovation Park

It is understood that Optics Valley Bio-City is the second national industrial base of Optics Valley, with a planned area of 30 square kilometers. Since the start of construction in 2008, it has gathered more than 3,000 various bio-enterprises. The main body of the market has continued to grow and the plant source has been born. Recombinant human albumin, controllable capsule endoscope, protein three-dimensional structure comparison software and other world-leading achievements.

The Biological Innovation Park is one of the 7 professional parks of Optics Valley Bio-City. The second phase of the project is located to the north of Jiufeng 1st Road and east of Optics Valley 3rd Road, across the road from the first phase. According to Wang Zhizhong, chairman of Hubei Science and Technology Investment Group, the second phase of the Biological Innovation Park project has a total development volume of 640,000 square meters and a total construction investment of 5.1 billion yuan. It is planned to be constructed in three phases.

The first phase of the project started construction in January 2020, with a construction area of 140,000 square meters, including single-family workshops, high-rise R&D buildings, and commercial facilities. The opening of the Bio-Innovation Park marks the expansion of the new space of Optics Valley Bio-City, which will solve the problem of insufficient industrial carrying space, meet the needs of new and expanding enterprises to enter the park, and further improve the industrial chain supporting facilities, residential and commercial facilities in the region.

The second phase of the project has a total construction area of about 240,000 square meters and a total planned investment of about 1.6 billion yuan. The project is planned to include high-rise office buildings, high-rise R&D and production buildings, single-family headquarters, etc., and is equipped with park facilities such as hotels, talent apartments, commercial service groups, and sports activity centers. According to reports, the second phase of the Innovation Park will further focus on the high-end of the big health industry value chain in the future, focusing on cutting-edge directions such as cell and gene therapy, gene editing, synthetic biology, life omics, and brain science, and carry out forward-looking layouts.

The relevant person in charge of the Wuhan National Bio-industry Base Construction Management Office stated that the second phase of the Innovation Park will fully rely on the complete industrial ecological support system of Optics Valley Bio-city, extend the core functions of the Bio-city, lay out the intensive industrial carrying space, and focus on the introduction of biomedicine and precision. Diagnosis, precision treatment, public services and "IT+BT" integrate biotechnology companies, as well as R&D and innovation institutions and corporate headquarters, to create a new generation of intelligent industrial parks integrating R&D, production, incubation, and support.

At the scene, 8 companies including Ruiji Biology, Mingli Medical, Mitaka Biology, Jissbond, Wuhan Institute of Biotechnology, Zhongke Polarization, Maiwei Metabolism, and Hansi Biology signed agreements to settle in. The first batch of contracted projects covers mRNA vaccines and drugs, new antibody drugs, life metabolomics, high-end medical imaging, AI pathology screening, surgical robots, life science tools and other fields.

Wuhan Ruiji Biotechnology Co., Ltd., which has signed this contract, is a biotechnology company with the world's leading mRNA technology. Its product pipeline has achieved full coverage of infectious disease vaccines, tumor immunotherapy, tumor vaccines and protein replacement therapy. Hu Yong, founder, chairman and CEO of Ruiji Biotech, said that through independent research and development and external cooperation, the company plans to submit a number of new drug clinical trial applications for mRNA vaccines and drugs in 2022 to help Wuhan accelerate the construction of a trillion-level health industry cluster: "After we came to Optics Valley, we filled the gap in mRNA innovative drugs and vaccines. The most representative of these is the new crown mRNA vaccine, which is the latest generation of vaccine production and research and development technology, which is already in use in Europe and the United States. At present, we are accelerating the promotion in China. For new mutant strains such as Delta strain and Omi Keron, we will promote related research and development and production in Wuhan.” Editor/He Yuting