Shengshi Taikang's Yu Qiang: The innovative drug industry is a "Long March"—if you give up halfway, you lose.

　　In 2020, the healthcare sector bucked the trend, sparking a "gold rush" in the capital markets.

　　In terms of funding volume, medical companies raised at least nearly 200 billion yuan in the primary market during the first three quarters of this year—a figure that even approaches Beijing’s total tax revenue for the first half of the year. As for growth speed, many companies saw their valuations skyrocket by several times within just one year.

　　“Recently, a reporter came to interview me, and I said, ‘Right now, the skies over Suzhou are filled with the scent of money.’” Dr. Yu Qiang, founder of Shengshi Taike and a participant in the “Elite Leadership Development and Empowerment Program,” organized by the Suzhou Industrial Park Enterprise Development Service Center and hosted by the participating institute, shared these words.

　　Rome wasn’t built in a day, and today’s capital-fueled boom in the industry is certainly no walk in the park. In fact, scientists who are firmly positioned among China’s top tier of biopharmaceutical innovators have already been quietly forging ahead on this notoriously thorny entrepreneurial path for at least two decades. Yu Qiang is one of them. Founded in 2010, Shengshi Taikang is now focused on the cutting-edge field of small-molecule innovative drug development, production, and sales—operating right in Suzhou Industrial Park, a thriving hub of China’s biopharmaceutical industry that has witnessed the rise and fall of countless pharmaceutical pioneers over the years.

　　“While one hero rises, countless others fall.” Yu Qiang sighed, recalling how many returning scientific researchers in various incubators, after enduring the bittersweet challenges of entrepreneurship, ultimately succumbed to the “three towering obstacles” plaguing innovative drug development—namely, the exceptionally long drug-development cycle, the massive investment required, and the astronomically low success rate. These very same “three mountains,” however, were precisely why venture capital firms had shown little enthusiasm for this field just a few years ago. After all, investing here often meant facing long-term difficulties in finding buyers or even exiting altogether—a scenario that clearly made such investments "not worth it" for institutions. And it was precisely this reality that left many returning entrepreneurs grappling with severe funding shortages.

　　But the word "difficult" couldn't stop Dr. Yu Qiang.

　　Even as the company repeatedly hovered on the brink of survival—barely able to put food on the table—even as his family back across the ocean endured the most devastating blow—and even after the team tasked with pioneering scientific research suffered a crushing setback, he never once paused. In his own words, this is China’s “Long March” for the biopharmaceutical industry; giving up now would mean that all the previous efforts and sacrifices would have been in vain.

　　He said his original motivation for pursuing this path was the desire to "ensure that domestic patients have access to affordable, high-quality, and cutting-edge medicines." And when he talks about "new" and "good," it doesn’t just mean the R&D team must always stay attuned to the latest technological advancements—it also underscores the need for leaders of science-and-tech enterprises to constantly recalibrate their mindset, bravely confront anxiety, maintain stability in organizational structures and talent management, and precisely align with both the company’s growth trajectory and its overarching strategic direction.

　　Staying true paid off for him.

　　From the day he returned to China and started from scratch, Shengshi Taikang has steadily followed a growth trajectory—from "me-too" to "me-first," with its clinical applications increasing year after year. By 2014, the company’s sales had already neared 10 million yuan. To date, Shengshi Taikang is nearing completion of five rounds of financing, including the A+ round in 2019, which raised over 100 million yuan.

　　Heat often comes hand in hand with bubbles, but a professional enterprise built steadily, step by step, will surely stand as solid as a rock.

　　As policy benefits such as national centralized procurement, pharmaceutical review reforms, and supportive land-use and financial measures continue to unfold, many companies have emerged in the "blue depths" of biopharmaceutical innovation—companies that now span the entire industry chain. Industry insiders note that among these players are several Chinese enterprises poised to evolve into trillion-dollar giants, making the future look exceptionally promising.

　　“Paper wealth” may never have been the ultimate goal for these pharmaceutical innovation entrepreneurs. After weathering countless challenges, when they suddenly look back at this pivotal moment in time, what kind of vision will they see? In the Q&A that follows, perhaps we can glimpse the industry’s thorns—and its promising future—through Yu Qiang’s understated yet profound words.

 

Yu Qiang, Founder of Shengshi Taike

1. This industry is one where success for a few comes at the cost of countless others.

 

 

Q1. What are the challenges in innovative drug development?

Yu Qiang: It turns out the industry widely agrees that developing innovative drugs follows the "Three 10s": a research and development cycle of more than 10 years, R&D costs exceeding $1 billion, and a success rate below 10%. Meanwhile, in the U.S., the cost of new drug development has now soared to as high as $2.6 billion—or even reportedly $3.5 billion—making it, quite simply, expensive.

 

The high cost of drug development is the first major challenge. For our innovative pharmaceutical R&D company, the drug payment landscape is crucial. In countries like the United States, where commercial insurance plays a dominant role alongside government-sponsored healthcare programs, this payment model helps foster a positive cycle that drives pharmaceutical innovation.

 

Business is business—while medicine certainly saves lives, research and development can’t always rely on endless financial support. After all, we’re not yet wealthy enough to afford that kind of luxury. The film *Dying to Survive* vividly highlights the dilemma surrounding rare disease treatments: Novartis once invested heavily in developing such drugs, but ultimately, the cost per patient must at least cover the company’s R&D expenses—resulting in inevitably high drug prices.

 

The second challenge lies in the extremely high demands and long timelines associated with each stage of research and development. Simply put, it’s impossible to wait until a drug hits the market and then try to fix problems—it must be perfected at every stage of research and validation. The validation process spans everything from in vitro tests to cell experiments and animal studies, with human trials coming only after these rigorous steps. Overall, even a 10-year timeline for this entire validation process and development cycle is considered relatively fast.

The third challenge is talent. Freshly graduated university students have almost no chance of starting a business in the innovative pharmaceutical industry due to their lack of industry experience. It typically takes at least ten years for a researcher to go through the entire drug development process before they’re ready to venture into entrepreneurship. That’s why most of the talent you see in this field tends to be relatively older. Moreover, top-tier innovation and R&D professionals are largely concentrated overseas.

Yu Qiang and his team are conducting experiments.

 

Q2. Based on your experience, how have the environment and trends in domestic innovative drug development changed over the years?

 

Yu Qiang: Policy-driven initiatives are crucial. A key opportunity came with China's accession to the WTO, which meant we had to recognize member countries' innovative drug patents—essentially limiting the development of domestic generic drugs. Another significant opportunity lies in the nation's push to build a robust pharmaceutical innovation system.

 

From the perspective of industry development, 2010 and 2015 were two pivotal milestones. First, major special initiatives encouraged innovation in biomedicine; second, the national government stepped up efforts to crack down on substandard generic drugs and fabricated clinical trial data, setting clear timelines for the drug approval process. These developments accelerated both the pace and efficiency of capital investment, driving dynamic innovation across the biopharmaceutical sector.

 

From the perspective of R&D success rates, in foreign countries, only 6% of innovative drugs that have advanced to the clinical trial stage ultimately succeed. In China, the situation is slightly better—since we’re focusing on "me-too" and "me-better" drugs targeting already validated pathways, these products not only demonstrate both safety and efficacy once approved, but also boast a success rate exceeding 20%.

 

Q3. What prompted you to return to China from the U.S. to start your own business?

Yu Qiang: When I started my business in the U.S., I was providing molecular modules to innovative drug developers—what’s known as FBDD (fragment-based drug discovery)—and my team was responsible for designing and synthesizing them. Interestingly, the very molecule module our company initially worked on back in late 2006 ended up becoming the foundation for the drug we’re developing today. I found this project particularly intriguing, and I was confident that my team had the expertise to refine it even further. So, I brought this promising result back to China, eager to give it a shot.

 

Why am I confident about starting my own business? Well, back then, AbbVie, the pioneer behind FBDD, actually purchased our team’s groundbreaking research—and that discovery later became a life-saving cancer drug, earning them a patent. In fact, the patent documents specifically highlighted one of our team’s unique molecular modules. This not only proves that our work has directly contributed to real-world innovation in drug development for this major company, but it also underscores the high quality and potential of our technology.

 

Plus, with the National Key Science and Technology Project finally taking root in the pharmaceutical sector, these three factors became the perfect opportunity for me to return home.

 

Q4. How is the entrepreneurial landscape shaping up in this industry?

Yu Qiang: "One general achieves victory, yet countless bones turn to dust." Take our park as an example—over the years, every biopharmaceutical company that has survived has faced numerous challenges.

Most of the companies that ultimately persevered managed to "bounce back" by 2015, but many others continue to face the looming threat of a "deadlock."

 

Shengshi Taikе Company Reception

 

02. There was a time when I felt the company could go under any minute.

 

Q5. Your “ The Darkest Hour ” What’s it like? Have you ever thought about giving up?

Yu Qiang: So far, 2015 has been the toughest year yet.

 

Back then, I was starting a business in China with very low income. Raising funds for the company was incredibly challenging—there simply wasn’t enough money to cover our clinical trials. In 2015, the company ran into serious financial trouble, leading to a massive exodus of talent. Even when we extended offers to potential hires, none of them showed up, citing that we couldn’t promise either sustainable earnings or access to additional funding. At the time, I honestly thought the company would collapse any minute. Meanwhile, my family also faced some unexpected hardships, making that year an especially tough and grueling period.

 

But I never once considered giving up. If I did, all the efforts I’ve made so far—including the sacrifices my family has endured—would have been for nothing. After all, if we don’t climb those snow-capped mountains or trek across the grasslands, there’ll never be a chance to liberate all of China. You’ve got to push through this difficult stretch—if you give up halfway, the rest of the story simply ends with you.

 

A friend of mine once said, "Looking back today, even the darkest moments from years ago don’t seem so bad—because the ones ahead keep getting darker." And now I’ve realized the same thing: the earlier they are, the less significant they feel.

 

Q6. Does failure make you anxious? How can you adjust your mindset?

Yu Qiang: Failure is something that naturally happens—it’s all about minimizing the likelihood of it occurring.

 

However, tackling anxiety starts with being mentally prepared; secondly, it’s crucial to proactively prevent problems before they even arise. Black swans will always appear—this holds true even during the R&D process—and in the end, you’ll need to find ways to solve the issues. As long as the problems aren’t fatal or catastrophic enough to destroy the company entirely, you’ll always manage to weather through them.

 

A classmate told me before I started my business that if you’re ready to sacrifice everything, then you’ll be able to take the leap. At the time, it didn’t seem like a big deal—but looking back, I realize just how tough it really was.

 

Shengshi Taikex Laboratory

 

03. The skies of Suzhou are filled with the scent of money.

 

Q7. How significant has the venture capital community's shift in perspective toward this industry been?

Yu Qiang: In the past, venture capital definitely tended to invest in projects that could generate returns more quickly.

 

For a biopharmaceutical innovation startup, achieving profitability within the first two years after going public is challenging. This is because, in the pharmaceutical industry, newly launched drugs typically spend their initial two years establishing distribution channels across various hospitals—during which time sales remain minimal. It’s only after the third year that demand and revenue finally start to pick up.

 

Since 2015, the environment has started to improve. And after the launch of the STAR Market in 2018, things got even better. Lately, it’s been absolutely booming—just the other day, a reporter came to interview me, and I jokingly said, "These days, when you look up at the sky in Suzhou, all you can smell is the scent of money!"

 

Q8. At what stage does a pharmaceutical innovation company become relatively safe?

Yu Qiang: A friend in the investment world once shared the "300-Million-Yuan Theory"—when a company secures a single round of funding exceeding 300 million yuan, it can essentially survive.

 

Why is that? Because developing and bringing a drug to market requires a total investment of between 300 million and 500 million yuan. By that time, the drug would have already entered Phase 3 clinical trials, a stage where it can be submitted for regulatory approval. Once the product is launched, the research and development company is relatively secure.

 

First, this process demonstrates that the R&D team has already navigated the entire drug development and commercialization pipeline—from research and development to regulatory approval, manufacturing, and sales—gaining valuable experience along the way. Second, once the drug enters production, it immediately generates sales records. Compared to riskier teams, capital markets tend to favor those with proven track records like this one. With a product in hand, companies can start generating revenue, laying the groundwork for sustainable growth based on their existing expertise. Moreover, having cash flow allows them to acquire promising R&D assets from smaller, less established firms—creating a self-sustaining cycle of innovation and expansion for the entire company.

 

Q9. Your team includes many returnees—why are they willing to come back to China?

Yu Qiang: Chinese students who study chemistry almost always go on to specialize in organic synthesis after they study abroad. But organic synthesis is messy, smelly, and carries the risk of explosions—tasks that foreigners generally avoid altogether.

 

I’ve personally experienced explosions while working on synthesis projects—my hair even got burned, making it impossible to open my eyes. On top of that, my eyelashes on both sides ended up curling inward and getting tangled together like they’d been tied in knots. If you’ve never had an accident during a chemistry experiment involving organic synthesis, chances are you’re either incredibly lucky—or maybe just destined for greatness!

 

After Chinese students complete their studies abroad, many choose to brush up on their biology knowledge before joining pharmaceutical companies as medicinal chemists. That’s why there are so many who initially worked for foreign-based enterprises. But when the opportunity arises—and once they’re ready to take the leap and start their own ventures—they all rush back home to make it happen.

 

Q10. What is the current talent situation in this industry? And how can we retain top talent?

Yu Qiang: If we can keep this going, I hope it will leave a lasting legacy. We’re recruiting new people every day.

 

There is a significant shortage of mid- and entry-level personnel in China's innovative drug R&D sector, creating a substantial talent gap. Over the past decade, the industry has experienced explosive growth, with numerous companies emerging all at once. For instance, BioBAY in Suzhou Industrial Park alone now hosts at least 100+ companies focused on developing cutting-edge pharmaceuticals. As the drug development process advances—moving from early-stage research into clinical trials—there’s an increasing demand not only for experts in areas like organic synthesis, formulation, and biology, but also for professionals specializing in clinical studies. This shift presents considerable challenges for the industry.

 

When it comes to poaching talent, our Peking University Chemistry Department boasts strong expertise in the innovative pharmaceuticals field. We even have a WeChat group called "Jiaozi Paradise Alchemy Group," where "Jiaozi" refers to Peking University, "Paradise" stands for Suzhou (a hub for pharmaceutical innovation), and "Alchemy" symbolizes drug development. Throughout the years, faculty members and alumni from Peking University’s Chemistry Department have upheld a mutual commitment—to this day, it’s been remarkably well-maintained: no one actively tries to recruit each other’s talents. In fact, if someone does decide to switch jobs, they’ll often give their colleagues advance notice, ensuring smooth transitions for everyone involved.

 

There are so many industry leaders already—people who truly stand out. But we’ll keep pushing forward without settling for mediocrity, and we absolutely can’t afford to fall behind. It feels like a long-distance race: you’ve got to stay close to the pack at the front, staying firmly in that elite group, because only then do you have the real chance to overtake—and maybe even take the lead.

 

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