The biomedical industry was listed as one of Shanghai's three core industries, and according to the city's development plan, the output of the city's biomedicine industry is expected to reach 1.2 trillion yuan ($177.5 billion) by 2025, and a world-class biomedicine industrial cluster will be established in Shanghai.
Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone in Pudong New Area in Shanghai, the core pillar of Shanghai's transformation into a biomedical hub, has made many breakthroughs in the development of innovative drugs. Seventeen new Category 1 drugs had been developed, and 12 innovative medical devices had been approved for marketing in Zhangjiang as of 2021.
Zhangjiang Science City is home to over 1,400 biomedical innovation entities, and seven of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies have set up operations in Zhangjiang. The top 20 global pharmaceutical companies have set up nine open innovation centers in the city, and the number of Class I new drugs cultivated by Zhangjiang accounts for nearly one-third of the country's total, according to official data.
After 30 years of development, the comprehensive strength of Zhangjiang's biomedical industry now ranks first in the country, and the demonstration zone has become the biomedical development center of Shanghai.