CCTV News Broadcast | Joseph Scheeren, Strategic Committee Advisor to Hotgen Biotech and International Pharmaceutical R&D Expert, on the Development of China’s Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry

On March 25, 2026, the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference opened in Beijing under the theme “Deep Integration of Scientific and Technological Innovation with Industrial Innovation.” More than 1,000 guests from over 100 countries and regions around the world gathered to discuss China’s scientific and technological innovation, industrial innovation, and high-level international cooperation in science and technology.

On the afternoon of March 27, the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum — Forum on Regulatory Science and High-Quality Development of the Biopharmaceutical Industry was successfully held. Hosted by the Beijing Municipal Medical Products Administration and organized by the Drug Information Association (DIA), with support and guidance from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), the forum focused on the core theme of “regulatory science” and brought together more than 200 representatives from government agencies, experts and scholars from China and abroad, and industry leaders. Through policy releases, keynote speeches, and roundtable discussions, the forum provided a platform for in-depth dialogue between regulators and industry, injecting strong momentum into the high-quality development of Beijing’s pharmaceutical industry.

During the keynote session, Joseph Scheeren, Foreign Academician of the French National Academy of Pharmacy, Strategic Committee Advisor to Hotgen Biotech, and international pharmaceutical R&D expert, delivered a comprehensive overview of global regulatory science and shared insights into the role of real-world evidence in regulatory science.

On March 28, CCTV’s News Broadcast featured the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference in a report titled “Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference: China Continues to Promote the Development of Global Scientific and Technological Cooperation.” During an interview with CCTV, Joseph Scheeren, Foreign Academician of the French National Academy of Pharmacy, spoke highly of China’s environment for scientific and technological innovation. He said, “China’s innovation is highly attractive. Many multinational companies are coming to China to do business so that they can bring their businesses and products to global markets.”

This recognition was not incidental. In January 2026, during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, Scheeren also spoke highly of the rapid growth and global competitiveness of China’s innovative drug pipeline in an interview with Global Times. China Daily likewise noted in its coverage of the 2026 China FIC Innovation and Collaboration Summit that Joseph Scheeren, who has more than 30 years of experience spanning the pharmaceutical industries of the United States, Europe, and Asia, holds an optimistic view of China’s development trajectory.

In recent years, China’s innovative pharmaceutical industry has maintained strong growth momentum. During the 2026 Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference, five major scientific and technological achievements focused on human health were unveiled, highlighting China’s continued progress in biopharmaceutical innovation. According to available data, China approved 76 innovative medicines for marketing in 2025 alone, while the total value of outbound licensing transactions exceeded US$130 billion. China’s contribution to the global innovative drug R&D pipeline has reached 30%.

Biopharmaceutical companies in China, represented by Hotgen Biotech (688068.SH), are accelerating their integration into the global R&D ecosystem. During the 2026 J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Sungen Biomed, a majority-owned subsidiary of Hotgen Biotech, and Youngen Biotech, an equity-invested company of Hotgen Biotech, joined other Chinese innovators at the “2026 China FIC Innovation and Collaboration Summit” in San Francisco. They showcased their core technology platforms and key R&D pipelines to the global audience, attracting significant industry attention.

From the Zhongguancun Forum to the San Francisco Summit, China is actively integrating into the global pharmaceutical innovation network by building high-level platforms for open cooperation. As Academician Scheeren has observed, through global partnerships, Chinese innovative pharmaceutical companies are increasingly positioning themselves as international R&D partners.

With the coordinated support of policy, industry, and capital, China’s pharmaceutical innovation is expected to play an increasingly important role in the global landscape and contribute greater Chinese expertise and solutions to advancing human health.