Zhu Tao, a new student in Cohort 3 of BRI EMBA, is the co-founder and chief scientific officer of CanSino Biologics. Over the years, he has led his team to continuously drive CanSino to make breakthroughs in technological innovation and international expansion, which not only fills the blank for China, but also demonstrates the innovative power of Chinese medicine to the world. As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Zhu Tao has legislated through proposals to promote more Chinese vaccines to countries along the "Belt and Road", crossing national borders and benefiting the world.
Zhu Tao speaking as a representative of new students
The following is an excerpt from Zhu Tao's speech:
With scientific and technological innovation, we protect the health of the world
In this world, plagues and various incurable diseases have always been terrifying. Viruses and bacteria appeared on Earth more than a billion years ago, but thanks to the efforts of microbiologists, they have revealed that these microbes are the root cause of multiple plagues and diseases. At the same time, the contribution of immunologists cannot be overlooked, as they discovered that vertebrates, including humans, although they appeared on Earth hundreds of millions of years later than bacteria and viruses, have evolved to form complex immune systems that can recognize, fight against and destroy these microorganisms. Engineers and doctors have developed vaccines based on our scientific knowledge to teach our immune system to prevent disease by mimicking these pathogens.
When certain diseases fade into obscurity, many people mistakenly believe that they have disappeared permanently. In fact, the first vaccine, the cowpox-based smallpox vaccine, helped humans eradicate the smallpox virus. However, the monkeypox virus, a relative of the smallpox virus, has recently made a comeback. In addition, the efficacy and durability of some vaccines are still insufficient, and the immune barrier is breached years after vaccination.
It's our job to continuously improve these vaccines and develop more innovative vaccines to address new threats. One of the technologies we are most concerned about is vaccine technology for inhalation administration. This is not only to reduce the discomfort of injection, but more importantly, to make full use of the body's mucosal immunity and effectively prevent respiratory infections. During the pandemic, we adopted adenovirus vector technology, which is more advanced than inactivated vaccines, and our efficacy is on par with GSK and J&J, which are internationally renowned pharmaceutical companies. We are even more proud that we pioneered the nebulized inhalation drug delivery method and applied it to large-scale vaccination. On December 4, 2022, a news story mentioned that a 90-year-old man was fully vaccinated, and that old man was my father-in-law. The happiness of being able to develop a globally innovative vaccine and benefit my family is indescribable.
Give full play to China's technological advantages and accelerate the layout and development in emerging markets
Vaccines are not only an important strategic resource for the country, but also a commodity with economic attributes. The potential of the vaccine market cannot be ignored, but it is difficult for countries or regions with small population bases or weak technical capabilities to cultivate excellent vaccine companies. At present, the global vaccine manufacturers are highly concentrated, and the five major European and American vaccine giants supply more than 85% of the world's vaccine products.
In recent years, China, India and Indonesia, with their large populations, have developed rapidly in the field of vaccines, not only producing traditional vaccines in large quantities, but also making significant progress in the field of innovative vaccines. For example, the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine and the Hepatitis E vaccine are both pioneered in China and marketed globally. In addition, China's adoption of advanced vaccine technology has significantly reduced the production cost of existing vaccines, such as cervical cancer vaccines. As China's newborn birth rate continues to decline, many vaccine companies are turning their attention to fast-growing emerging markets. We are working with local companies in emerging markets to see how we can better serve these countries with our products and technologies. Through exploration in the past two or three years, we have realized that we need to combine China's capital and technological advantages with the market and industrial development needs of these countries to explore the international market on the basis of localization.
The advent of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of vaccine self-sufficiency, especially in emerging countries. The spread of the pandemic has made these countries aware of the risks and uncertainties that can come with relying on international markets for vaccine supplies. As a result, a growing number of emerging countries are beginning to see building local vaccine production capacity as the key to improving national security and public health defenses.
Deepen Belt and Road cooperation and promote innovative vaccines for the benefit of the world
CanSino Biologics deeply understands the importance of vaccines to national security, and also recognizes that the global vaccine production capacity is extremely unevenly distributed. As an innovator in the field of vaccines, we not only focus on market expansion in our overseas business layout, but also devote ourselves to technology transfer to help other countries establish local production capacity. Through our work with these countries, we are actively promoting the localization of vaccine production technologies, providing technical support and equipment to help them set up vaccine production facilities that meet international standards. This strategy has not only helped partner countries improve their self-sufficiency, but also enhanced the diversity and stability of the global vaccine supply.
In this process, we pay special attention to cooperation with the "Belt and Road" countries. Taking Indonesia as an example, in October 2022, during the G20 meeting in Bali, we introduced CanSino's inhaled COVID and tuberculosis vaccines to the Indonesian Minister of Health, and demonstrated the inhalation device. Indonesia is facing a serious threat of tuberculosis, and the pandemic has exacerbated the pressure on the health system, the minister said. As a result, he expressed a keen interest in conducting clinical studies of inhaled tuberculosis vaccine in Indonesia and hopes to localize production in the future to meet public health goals by 2030. CanSino is willing to respond to this demand and is willing to provide a full range of technical support to help Indonesia establish its own vaccine production system.
In the process of exporting vaccines going overseas in countries along the "Belt and Road", I still have many points of confusion. This led me to join the Belt and Road Finance EMBA (BRI EMBA) program. My dream is to create a better and safer future for mankind through technological innovation. This dream is not only my personal pursuit, but also the common aspiration of mankind. I hope that in the next two years, I will learn from my classmates, grow together, and contribute to the development of countries along the "Belt and Road".
