Industrial Transformation: Baoshan’s Path of Transformation and Development
Source: Shanghaibaoshan Author: Public Time: 2022-09-20 14:07

The 600-year-old Luodian Town of Baoshan District in northern Shanghai has undergone a drastic change. Bioproducts, medical devices, original new drugs…these high-end manufacturing trends in the biopharmaceutical industry seem to be out of place in a town known for its historical heritage and folk customs. However, it is these trends that have facilitated the record-breaking transformation and development of the town.

In two years, the North Shanghai Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park based mainly in Luodian has introduced top-performing talents, industry leaders and promising startups, bringing the gross output value of biopharma companies with annual revenue of more than RMB 20 million in Baoshan up to RMB 5,108 million in 2021, with a two-year average growth rate of 70.85%.

Building on the North Shanghai Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park, over 200 biopharma enterprises have settled in new specialized industrial parks such as Baoshan Hi-tech Industrial Park, Guosheng-Baoshan MEDIPARK, Gold Concord MAX Science and Technology Park, and Jinqiao Industrial Park, creating an industrial ecosystem that integrates R&D, production, and services.

While industrial transformation is the key to open Baoshan, the north gateway of Shanghai, industrial development will further promote innovation and openness.

Accelerated transformation of Luodian

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Luodian was a prosperous commercial town abounding with products, which explains why the town had the name “Gold Luodian”. However, when modern industrial development began, it became inconspicuous and was merely a place of historical glory and memory. Today, focusing on the cutting-edge biopharma industry and with North Shanghai Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park established, Luodian has again demonstrated its value.

What brought about the combination of the old town and the emerging industry? According to Shi Minghong, Director of Baoshan District Economic Commission, as Shanghai is speeding up its efforts to build biopharmaceutical industry clusters with global influence, Baoshan doesn’t want to miss this opportunity. “Although Baoshan has a relatively weak industrial base and entered the industry late, a comprehensive analysis of the location, transportation and supporting facilities convinced us that Luodian of Baoshan has an advantage in creating biopharma clusters,” he said.

High early operating costs, lengthy project development process, and mismatch of indicators are problems facing most biopharma companies. Therefore, ready-made professional industrial parks are the preferred option for them, especially those in the R&D and business development processes.

 “We attract investment while building industrial parks and improving supporting facilities to enable enterprises to settle directly in the parks. The practices of ‘completion acceptance of single buildings’ and ‘construction upon land acquisition’ maximize the efficiency of project implementation and operation and generate valuable economic benefits to both industrial parks and enterprises,” said Wang Weijie, Secretary of the CPC Luodian Town Committee.

“It only took one year from establishing the company to product production. This is the remarkable Shanghai speed,” said Wang Xiaoming, Deputy General Manager of CanSino SPH.

The Baoshan MEDIPARK has taken shape with 8 medium-sized plants, 6 small plants and 2 steel buildings under construction and many companies already attracted to it.

Compared with a few biopharma enterprises in the beginning, the biopharma industry in Baoshan has reached a certain scale, with top industry players settled. As a major project in Shanghai, Baoshan MEDIPARK is expected to house about 100 various companies to further promote the development and commercialization of biopharma technologies and create a new industrial cluster.

Three questions answered to facilitate transformation

 “Officials in Baoshan have a good understanding of technology, enterprises and the market, which facilitate our efforts to advance our projects,” said Liu Yanjun, Chairman of Bao Pharmaceuticals. Enterprises can truly feel the business environment. The reason that Baoshan is able to attract quality enterprises to settle is that it has provided satisfactory answers to three questions important for transformation: How to provide good services? How to gain trust? How to create opportunities?

One example is Tianshuyuan talent apartments specially built for enterprises in Baoshan, which help them retain talents by meeting the living needs of their employees. Among the 113 apartments, 110 have been occupied by employees from Jingfeng Pharmaceutical, Zhaohui Pharmaceutical, etc.

“Good services for enterprises require systematic policies and practical implementation. For each key project, we assign a person-in-charge to help advance its progress step by step until it is implemented and put into operation,” said Shi Minghong.

Take the practice of “construction upon land acquisition” as an example. Most companies know little about policies, laws and procedures concerning land acquisition and cannot keep up with the government. “That’s where government plays its role. We help enterprises identify problems and solve them to ensure that construction can start as quickly as possible. Only with professional and targeted services can we win the trust of enterprises,” said Zhai Lei, Deputy District Mayor of Baoshan.

Opportunities are not only seized, but also jointly explored, which is particularly evident in Baoshan. In the process of advancing and implementing projects, enterprises in North Shanghai Biopharmaceutical Industrial Park get closer to each other, forming an industrial alliance that enables common planning for the future. The solid industrial base in the park provides a platform for enterprises to deepen innovation and entrepreneurship.

North gateway of Shanghai opened through transformation

Industrial transformation has made Baoshan’s biopharma industry renowned at home and abroad. Baoshan has held two sessions of the China Bio-Pharm Partnering Forum. This year, it will participate in the Second mRNA-based Drug Technology Innovation Summit for the first time to further explore opportunities.

Baoshan continues to reinforce and upgrade weak links in the biopharma industry chain and safeguard its stability. It strives to expand the industry in scope and depth by attracting top players and accelerating the commercialization of frontier research results.

The biopharma industry has not only transformed Baoshan, but also opened Baoshan, the north gateway of Shanghai, to the global industry chain and the greater international market.

Waterways make Baoshan an important gateway and transportation hub of Shanghai. However, with no industry established, Baoshan was merely a “rest stop on the road” before. It is the development of high-end industries that has made Baoshan home to quality enterprise and promoted its transformation.

“As the north gateway of Shanghai and an important propeller for the development of economic belts along the Yangtze River and the coastline, Baoshan will devote great efforts to enhancing urban function and core competitiveness while accelerating transformation and development, and to increasing its visibility in the process of serving major national strategies,” said Chen Jie, Secretary of CPC Baoshan District Committee.

Recently, the lists of national and Shanghai “little giant” companies for 2022 have been published and 16 Baoshan-based companies are on the national list, bringing the total number of Baoshan-based “little giant” companies to 263, with a growth rate of over 433%. Such increase clearly shows the innovation potential and vitality of Baoshan.

At present, Baoshan Station of the North-Yangtze River High-speed Railway is under construction. The improvement of transportation network will provide Baoshan with greater opportunities to promote industrial development and deepen its transformation, development, and science and technology innovation.


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