During breaks, Zhao Zhengyang always likes to play a game of soccer with his friends. On the football field, this doctor of biochemical engineering is responsible for breaking the goal; however, when he returns to work, he prefers to use the term "goalkeeper" to describe what he and his team are doing.
In 2021, Zhao Zhengyang quit his stable job and plunged into the entrepreneurial tide, establishing Nanjing Zhengyang Biotechnology Co. The soccer spirit of "never give up" is his motto.
01 Scientist Cross-Border Entrepreneurship
Zhao Zhengyang's entrepreneurial story is a typical "scientists into entrepreneurs" road.
He studied biology at Ocean University of China, and then went to the University of Queensland and Monash University in Australia for further study, with research interests involving molecular biology and biochemical engineering. After returning to China, Zhao Zhengyang, who has a solid theoretical foundation and rich experimental experience, first taught at the university and then entered a foreign company to engage in research and development.
"After five or six years in foreign companies, I've always dealt with industry." Zhao Zhengyang said.This experience gave him a deep understanding of(modal particle intensifying preceding clause)skillbeHow it becomes a product,should alsoHow to sell it(used form a nominal expression)The
The opportunity to start his own business came from a "reverse push". He once worked as a consultant for an investment organization, helping to evaluate projects. However, during the evaluation process, he found that many projects seemed to be "lofty", but in the actual industrial environment, it was difficult to land.
The investment organization asked curiously, "If it were you, what would you do?" Zhao Zhengyang clearly stated his plan for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and the investment organization decided to support him to give it a try although it felt that this path was a bit "earthy".
In 2021, Zhengyang Bio was established in Jiangbei New District;A year later, the company launched two self-developed test kit productsand gradually opened up the market over the following two years.
"The choice of Nanjing and Jiangbei has been well thought out. Nanjing has a balanced industry and full potential in the field of biomedicine, and Jiangbei New District has strong support for scientists' entrepreneurship and good support." Zhao Zhengyang said with a smile.
02 2 hours results
After several years of development, Zhengyang Bio has expanded from a single person to a team of nearly 20 people, including80%It's the R&D staff.They are specialized in the detection of residues and contaminants in biologics and pharmaceuticals. Their main focus is on kits that specialize in the detection of residues, impurities and contaminants in biological products and pharmaceuticals that are explicitly checked for by the pharmacopoeia.
"If it's not detected, the contamination could lead to inflammation, immune responses, or even more serious consequences for the patient." Zhao Zhengyang described.
it (refers sth. preceding it)Mycoplasma rapid test kits arefirms(used form a nominal expression)"Ace Products"one (third, quarter, percent etc)TheMycoplasma is a tiny microorganism that can easily contaminate cell culture systems. For biological drugs such as antibody drugs, cell therapy, gene therapy, vaccines, etc., mycoplasma residue is a mandatory test explicitly stipulated by the Pharmacopoeia.
Take the current very hot innovative technology cell therapy as an example, this "living drug" has a very strong characteristic, from the patient's body to extract cells, to the in vitro transformation, expansion, and then back to the patient, the whole process of the "shelf-life" is extremely short, the production rhythm of the requirements of nearly The whole process has a very short "shelf-life" and the requirements for the pace of production are almost harsh.
Traditional mycoplasma detection methods rely on culture methods, which can take up to 28 days. In the case of cell-based therapies, by the time the results are available in 28 days, the cells will have long since failed, and there will be no treatment at all. This time paradox has also been one of the limiting factors in the rapid diffusion and application of such advanced therapies.
"Our kits, paired with an automated system that2Results will be available in about an hour.." Zhao Zhengyang introduction. In addition to greatly improved efficiency, more critical is the breakthrough in detection performance: the mycoplasma detection kit of Zhengyang Biological, not only covers a wide range of detectionoutweigh200Mycoplasma speciesIts sensitivity is even 5CFU/mL.
What's more, the kit has also been validated by the world's top third-party laboratories, and the report meets the pharmacopoeial requirements of China, the United States, Japan and Europe.Support for "dual reporting" by drug companies in the US and China. "This means that drug companies that use our products will have common data in the testing process when their drugs are declared in China and the U.S. This can save time and reduce costs for companies to declare." Zhao Zhengyang said.
03 More than 30 test kits available
Today, the company has launchedMore than 30 test kit productsThe company's products have entered the supply chain of a number of local and nationally recognized pharmaceutical companies, including a number of cell therapy companies in the surrounding area, and cover a number of key quality control aspects, such as DNA detection of host cell residues and rapid sterility testing. When the test kit business is on track, Zhao Zhengyang began to develop a longer-term development path.
In his planning, on the one hand, the company wants toContinuing to specialize in biopharmaceutical quality control, develop more testing products that comply with pharmacopeial requirements and promote the updating of industry standards. On the other hand, the company has toOpening a deeper synthetic biology platform business, including new drug development and CRO services. In addition, Zhengyang Bio is exploringExpansion of technology into food, animal testing, etc.The
From university teacher to enterprise founder, from technology development to market development, behind the transformation of Zhao Zhengyang is the persistence of "transforming knowledge into valuable products". Just like his love of soccer - not only individual skills, but also teamwork, and the determination to defend the defense at critical moments.
In the Jiangbei New Area of this biopharmaceutical industry highland, is Yang biological such "gatekeeper" enterprises, is a solid technology and innovation, for more sprinting in front of the pharmaceutical enterprises to build a firm quality line of defense, so that each innovative drug "charge", are more confident, more secure.
