Shengshi Taikang Nominated for the Finals of the 7th China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in the Biomedical Industry

From November 12 to 15, 2018, the finals of the 7th China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition in the Biomedical Industry were held in Guangzhou. This event marked the ultimate showdown among China's top biomedical innovation teams, while also establishing a national-level platform in Guangzhou to facilitate resource integration and collaborative development across various sectors. The biomedical industry is often hailed as the "crown jewel" of the latest wave of technological revolution. As the nation embarks on its journey to "capture this treasure," a multi-hundred-billion-dollar emerging industry is rapidly rising, driving the robust growth of the broader health-care sector. Today, the biomedical field continues to see a surge of groundbreaking innovations and entrepreneurial ventures, with numerous rising stars in the industry emerging from this prestigious competition.

The biopharmaceutical projects that have advanced to the national finals this year are undeniably strong contenders. Out of more than 30,000 participating companies nationwide, 3,667 were from the biopharmaceutical sector. After rigorous rounds of local preliminary contests, semi-finals, and the final competition, 235 outstanding companies made it to Guangzhou—among them, a significant number came from regions like Yunnan, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Jiangsu. In terms of the projects themselves, cutting-edge innovations in areas such as innovative medical devices, precision medicine, genetic testing, new drug development, regenerative medicine, pharmaceutical equipment, in vitro diagnostics, and "Internet + Healthcare" technologies will all showcase their breakthroughs on the same stage.

Participating companies will compete through a "semi-final + final" advancement pathway, with the semi-final and final rounds taking place on November 14 and 15, respectively. The semi-final will be conducted in a group-stage format, where all qualified companies are divided into three Startup Groups and seven Growth Groups for group pitch presentations. Each presentation lasts 8 minutes, followed by a 7-minute Q&A session—this structure forms the core of the competition. From the semi-final, 101 outstanding companies will be selected, along with the top 6 national startups and the top 14 national growth companies, setting the stage for the ultimate battle for the championship. In the final round, first, second, and third-place winners in the national biopharmaceutical category will be announced live.

The Shengshi Taikang team, led by Pan Huiping, delivered a standout performance in the finals and was awarded the National Excellence Prize at the 2018 Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition. Today also happens to be World Diabetes Day, and as an innovative company at the forefront of developing diabetes-fighting drugs, we remain committed to pushing boundaries and driving progress.

In fact, the predecessor of United Nations Diabetes Day was World Diabetes Day (WDD), jointly launched in 1991 by the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation, with the aim of raising global awareness and fostering a deeper understanding of diabetes.

At the end of 2006, the United Nations passed a resolution to officially rename "World Diabetes Day," effective from 2007, as "United Nations Diabetes Day." This move elevated the involvement of experts and academic initiatives to a government-level action across nations, encouraging governments and all sectors of society to strengthen diabetes prevention and control efforts, thereby reducing the health risks associated with the disease.

Currently, Shengshi Taikang has reached agreements with institutions—including Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital—to initiate Phase I clinical trials for phosphate sotagliflozin. Phosphate sotagliflozin is a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitor, a class of drugs whose primary advantages include the absence of hypoglycemia and weight gain, along with cardiovascular protective effects. Moreover, given that Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes often experience more severe damage to their pancreatic beta cells compared to patients in Europe and North America—yet DPP-4 inhibitors are particularly effective at improving beta-cell function—Chinese patients stand to benefit even more from this treatment. As a result, DPP-4 inhibitors are gaining increasing recognition among physicians in China.

Phosphate Shenagliptin is a major new drug development project under China’s 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans, as well as Jiangsu Province’s “Science and Technology Support Program.” It is a novel diabetes treatment entirely developed through independent research and innovation. Preclinical studies of Phosphate Shenagliptin have demonstrated its efficacy to be 3 to 10 times greater than that of the globally recognized drug Phosphate Sitagliptin (Januvia), while its safety profile is more than 5 times superior. These advantages are remarkably clear-cut. The successful launch of Phosphate Shenagliptin will provide hundreds of millions of Chinese type 2 diabetes patients with a more affordable, safer, and highly effective treatment option, further elevating the standard of care for type 2 diabetes in China. Shengshi Taikang will continue to prioritize independent innovation as the driving force behind our company’s growth, steadfastly fulfilling our mission to develop groundbreaking therapies for China’s most challenging diseases. We will also maintain close collaborations with academic institutions both domestically and internationally, actively pioneering the path toward industrializing China’s pharmaceutical and biotech advancements—ultimately benefiting patients across the country.