Huangpu District People's Congress delegation visits Reforgene

On August 27, 2024, Huang Jianqiang, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Huangpu District People's Congress of Guangzhou, led a delegation to Reforgene for research and guidance, accompanied by leaders and staff from the Standing Committee of the Huangpu District People's Congress, the Science and Technology Bureau of Huangpu District, Guangzhou, and Guangzhou Development District Industrial Fund Investment Group Co., Ltd.

At the discussion, Dr. Liang Junbin, CEO of Reforgene, warmly welcomed the delegation and reported on Reforgene's business development and the latest progress and breakthroughs in gene editing medicine R&D. He said that gene editing is a disruptive technological innovation and an emerging field in global biomedicine, reshaping the industrial landscape of biomedicine, and the entire industry is currently in an early stage. Chinese enterprises have already gained initial international competitiveness in gene editing technology and products, with unique development advantages. As a leading enterprise in this field, Reforgene hopes to help humanity enter an era of curative medicine. At present, Reforgene has achieved globally advanced clinical progress in beta-thalassemia innovative medicines, with all enrolled patients escaping transfusion dependence and achieving cure; in alpha-thalassemia innovative medicines, it has achieved the world's first breakthrough of curing an alpha-thalassemia patient. At the same time, the company has deployed pipelines for major diseases of organs such as ophthalmology, the central nervous system and the liver. On the other hand, the company has also developed a series of proprietary CRISPR/Cas editing technologies with broad application value.

During the research discussion, the two sides had frank and in-depth exchanges on issues such as the approval of biomedical products, payment policies for innovative drugs, capital market conditions, and the overseas expansion of products and technologies. Both sides recognized that, under the current pressure on the overall economy, the strategic development of biomedical enterprises requires new thinking and a higher vision; although the challenges are great, there are also very broad opportunities for global development. Therefore, fully supporting innovative drug enterprises with technology and strength to participate in global competition and promoting the accelerated innovative development of the biomedical industry is pragmatic and in line with the current situation.

Huang Jianqiang fully affirmed Reforgene's corporate philosophy and spirit of innovation. He said that the major progress of curing all thalassemia patients in clinical trials is exciting and reflects the company's hard technology strength. He encouraged Reforgene to continue doing well in technological innovation, using cutting-edge gene editing technology to help more patients overcome disease and create greater social and economic benefits. Regarding the current challenges and opportunities in industry development, Huang Jianqiang said that topics related to enhancing enterprise competitiveness should be seriously studied, to provide effective support for the better implementation of industrial policies and help solve various problems in the development of the biomedical industry, creating development space for innovative drugs and enhancing the global competitiveness of local biomedical enterprises. The attending leaders also had fruitful discussions on biomedical policies and investment and financing policies in the Greater Bay Area.

This research visit to Reforgene fully reflects Huangpu District's high regard for outstanding biomedical enterprises and its determination to accelerate support and promote the development of new quality productive forces. With united efforts, Huangpu District's biomedical industry will usher in greater development opportunities and a more brilliant tomorrow.