As artificial intelligence reshapes the industrial landscape, Binhu's life and health sector, a competitive advantage honed for over four decades, needs the backing of high-level innovation leaders to leap forward. On September 15th, a university-local government cooperation and industry-academia-research exchange event between Binhu District and Jiangnan University took place. This was a new exploration aimed directly at "opening up channels for the local transformation of research achievements," featuring the launch of cooperation initiatives, the signing of industry-academia-research projects and joint laboratories, and the appointment of industry advisors. The ultimate goal of the event was to integrate university resources with local strengths, fostering deep ties between technological and industrial innovation within Binhu.

Jiangnan University President Li Jian, Vice President and Party Standing Committee Member Ma Xin, District Party Secretary Zhao Qiang, District Mayor Wu Hongjuan, Deputy Director of the Wuxi Science and Technology Bureau Liu Hong, and district leaders Yao Chen and Ma Hanbin attended the event.

The "Number One University in the South" Charts a New Course for Advantage

Jiangnan University, directly under the Ministry of Education, is a national "211 Project" and "Double First-Class" university. Ranked 52nd in the 2026 ShanghaiRanking's Best Chinese Universities Ranking, it boasts a rich educational heritage and fruitful scientific research outcomes. It is a brilliant "city card" for Wuxi, living up to the high expectations of renowned educator Gu Yuxiu, who called it the "first university in the South."

Looking back to the end of 2021, in response to the "Healthy China" strategy and leveraging its advantageous "Double First-Class" disciplines in food science and bioengineering, Jiangnan University deepened its cooperation with the Wuxi municipal government to establish the School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering. This school focuses on creating a distinctive integration of pharmacy and life and health. Currently, it houses provincial-level platforms like the Key Laboratory of Sugar Vaccines and Glycodrugs for Jiangsu Province's universities and the Jiangsu Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Biomedical Manufacturing. It has a complete innovation chain from basic research to drug development, pharmaceutical raw materials, and comprehensive health products.

During the event, Jiangnan University signed agreements with Binhu-based life and health enterprises like Jenscare Scientific, OriGene Technologies, and Kaifu Pharmaceutical to establish joint laboratories, racing forward in areas such as medical device innovation, precision diagnostics, biopharmaceuticals, and AI-powered drug discovery. Moving from individual projects to shared platforms, a regular innovation network for university-local-government-enterprise collaboration is taking shape.

Binhu Takes the Lead, Embarking on a New "Life Health + AI" Journey

Binhu's life and health industry has deep roots, starting with the establishment of Sino-Swed Pharmaceutical in 1982 and the arrival of Fortune 500 giant Pfizer in 1988. Through the 1990s, a cluster of biomedical companies gathered in Mashan, earning it the title "Pharma Valley of East China." Since 2007, with the establishment of the Wuxi Biomedical R&D Service Outsourcing Zone, sectors like new drug development, high-end medical devices, special medical foods, and medical services have advanced in tandem. Each industrial leap has been perfectly timed to meet the era's demands.

The life and health sector meets a present-day need and points towards the future. Through years of industrial accumulation, Binhu has effectively built and utilized the Mashan International Life Science Park brand within the resort area, cultivating and attracting leading enterprises like WuXi AppTec, Sino-Swed Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, and Jenscare Scientific. The district has established or invested in 9 life and health industry funds totaling nearly 10 billion yuan. In 2025, the scale of Binhu District's life and health industry is expected to surpass 20 billion yuan, forming a complete industrial chain that provides solid support and ample space for innovation and technological application.

This time, the focal point is artificial intelligence. The new collaboration plan emerging from deep university-local cooperation directly targets the "AI + Life Health" track. At the event, 4 industry-academia-research projects were launched, precisely targeting hot areas like intelligent equipment, precision diagnostics, healthy foods, and innovative biologics, all in sync with the wave of industrial intelligent upgrades.

Collaboration Seals the Deal: University R&D, Industry, and Ecosystem Circles Integrate Deeply

As the host district of Jiangnan University's main campus, Binhu shares a profound historical connection with the university. During the private Jiangnan University era, industrialist Rong Desheng founded the school with great effort in places like Rongxiang and Houwanshan in Binhu. After the founding of the PRC, the Wuxi Institute of Light Industry was established in Qingshan Bay at the foot of Xihui Mountain. In the new century, Jiangnan University's Lihu Campus settled in Changguangxi, Binhu. Over nearly 80 years of partnership, the university and the district have forged deep ties, becoming a development community that thrives together.

Since the beginning of this year, Binhu District and Jiangnan University have engaged in regular, multi-level, and comprehensive exchanges. This includes strategic discussions between top leaders, as well as precise collaboration between district-level science and technology departments, local administrative areas, and units like the university's School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering and its National Science Park. These efforts aim to implement the municipal government's directives and meticulously build distinctive brands like "Taihu π".

Specifically within life and health, the right wing of the "π" represents the high-level "R&D circle" centered on Jiangnan University. The left wing signifies the full-chain "industry circle" based in the resort area. The top of the "π" symbolizes the high-quality "ecosystem circle" integrating science, industry, city, and people. This deepening cooperation in the life and health sector aligns Binhu District's and Jiangnan University's respective strengths with industry trends and regional development strategies.

The university and district innovatively launched a two-way appointment mechanism. On one hand, 4 senior professors from Jiangnan University's life and health fields were hired as industry development advisors for the district. On the other, 5 senior technical and management experts from local Binhu life and health enterprises were selected as external supervisors for Jiangnan University, allowing frontline industry experience to feed back into university research and talent cultivation. Concurrently, Jenscare Scientific, Xuanren Technology, OriGene Technologies, and Hygeia Hospital were successfully designated as off-campus teaching and internship bases for the university's School of Life Sciences and Health Engineering.

This series of initiatives showcases Binhu's clear strategy for promoting industry-academia-research integration: research in universities, transformation in parks, and livability in the lakeside area. As one participating entrepreneur noted, "University innovation shouldn't be 'locked in the lab,' and industry pain points need to be 'solved with open doors.' Today's event showed us the immense potential of 'AI + Life Health'."

We believe that the launch of collaborative initiatives, like the "professors into enterprises, engineers into labs" two-way exchange program and the "Binhu – Jiangnan University Science and Innovation Sharing Pool" platform, will deepen university-local cooperation and generate new momentum.

Winds rise over Jiangnan; tides surge in the lakeside bay. Focusing on key tracks such as high-end medical devices, AI drug discovery, cell and gene therapy, cosmetics, and special medical foods, the story of collaborative innovation between Binhu District and Jiangnan University is set to continue infinitely on this industrial heartland shaped like "π".