A view of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. [Photo/WeChat account: pdnews]

From January to August, the biomedical industry in the bonded area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone achieved a business income of 203.7 billion yuan ($27.86 billion), an increase of 11 percent over the same period last year, accounting for nearly one third of Shanghai's total. 

Meanwhile, the import of medical instruments and equipment reached 27.7 billion yuan, an increase of 8 percent, raising its share of the national import of similar goods to 43.2 percent. Pharmaceutical imports amounted to 66.2 billion yuan, an increase of 27.6 percent, raising its national share in the import of similar goods to 26.9 percent.

In recent years, the bonded area has implemented a strategy to upgrade the Shanghai FTZ, continuously improving the innovative research and development capabilities in the biopharmaceutical sector. 

Efforts have been made to promote the extension, supplementation, and strengthening of the industrial chain, forming an industrial cluster that is based on the import and export of medical instruments and drugs. 

Efforts will focus on innovative research and development, production manufacturing, maintenance testing, medical services, clinical trials, and other sectors.

The INNO Medicine production base was recently officially launched in Waigaoqiao Bonded Zone. The base has a fixed asset investment of about 200 million yuan and a construction area of about 15,000 square meters.

The base is designed, built and operated according to international standards. It is the world's first industrial production line for drugs targeting cardiovascular diseases. It is expected to become the largest batch production base for liposomes in the world.

A view of the INNO Medicine production base launched in Waigaoqiao Bonded Zone. [Photo/WeChat account: pdnews]