OVC companies rev up for New Year

A production line of Humanwell Healthcare Group Co. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

At the beginning of 2024, pharmaceutical companies from various West African countries have sent orders to Humanwell Healthcare Group Co, which is based in the East Lake High-tech Development Zone (also known as Optics Valley of China, or OVC). This enterprise is now working day and night to ensure timely delivery.

In 2013, leveraging the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Humanwell Healthcare invested in building factories in Mali, West Africa, and Ethiopia, East Africa. Over the last decade, the output value of Humanwell's African division has increased from less than 10 million yuan ($1.39 million) to nearly 400 million yuan.

Located at the valley's innovative drug industrial base, Wuhan Kingwise Biotechnology Co, led by Ma Ding, an academician from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, has made significant progress in the last year. Their first gene therapy drug KD01 is expected to become the first Chinese gene immunotherapy drug for cervical cancer in HPV-infected patients.

HGTECH also secured a huge order in the field of semiconductor laser processing. Over the last decade, HGTECH has invested over 4 billion yuan into R&D, ranking first in more than 60 specific fields, and achieved a revenue breakthrough of over 10 billion yuan. In 2023, HGTECH's R&D investment increased by 28 percent.

Wuhan Guide Technology Co successfully completed its initial public offering (IPO), becoming the first company nationwide to do so this year and the 67th listed company in the valley.