The core of the current technological revolution lies in promoting the transformation of science and technology into industries. How can we make the "good seeds" of scientific research bear "golden fruits" in the form of industries? The answer lies in a group of cross-disciplinary individuals - they possess both the identities of scientists and entrepreneurs, and with their unique perspectives, they break through the "last mile" of technology transformation, truly promoting the implementation of innovation and turning it into new qualitative productive forces. The guest on this program is one of them.
This issue's special guest: Chen Hong, from Wuhan, Hubei Province. She is a professor and doctoral supervisor at the Department of Materials and Chemical and Chemical Engineering of Soochow University, and the founder and chairman of Jiangsu Baishafei Biotechnology Co., Ltd. In 2011, she received the Outstanding Young Scientist Fund Project from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. In 2014, she became a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in the UK. In 2020, she became a fellow of the International Federation of Biomaterials Science and Engineering. In 2023, she became a fellow of the Chinese Biomedical Materials Society. She has led over ten national-level scientific research projects and has achieved a series of innovative results in the research of the surface interface of biomaterials. She has published more than 200 papers in domestic and international academic journals. She has transformed her enterprise into a full-chain technology service platform for medical coatings, promoting the domestication of coatings to drive the development of domestic medical devices towards the high-end.
Medical coatings are the key raw materials at the upstream end of the medical device industry chain. When catheters, guidewires and other medical devices enter the human body, the thin coating on their surfaces, which is only a few micrometers thick, needs to ensure lubrication, reduced resistance and no tissue damage, while also allowing doctors to operate conveniently and ensuring the smooth execution of the surgery. Many medical devices also need to have functions such as anticoagulation, antibacterial and anti-crystallization. In the past, domestic medical device enterprises had no coatings available and relied entirely on imports. Chen Hong has been deeply engaged in the field of surface modification of biological materials for over two decades, and her technology has long reached international leading levels. However, when she saw that enterprises in Suzhou's Biomedical Industrial Park were being held back by this "thin sheet", the "inner drive" within her was ignited. In 2017, she brought along one graduate and two externally recruited personnel and rented a 150-square-meter small factory beside the industrial park. The story of Baishai Fei thus began.
The difficulties of starting a business far exceeded expectations. The "perfect story" in the laboratory does not equate to the ability for industrialization. Medical devices require absolute stability in each batch of products. "Each product is related to a surgery, and some even relate to a life." The most challenging aspect is the trust barrier. How could a large enterprise dare to entrust the key processes related to life safety to a start-up company? The more serious issue is the regulatory threshold: As a supplier of raw materials for the medical industry, one must comply with the strict quality system of the medical industry, as well as meet the qualifications for chemical production and environmental protection requirements. Only in this way can stable supply be guaranteed. In desperation, this technology company in Suzhou Industrial Park, which was supposed to be a light asset company, bought land and built buildings in Changshu Chemical Park, and built a Class A, 10,000-level clean workshop that meets explosion-proof and environmental protection standards. "The investment may be several times that of an ordinary workshop, but only such a heavy asset layout can ensure it."
After eight years of hard work, Baishaifei has built three layers of defense. Firstly, it has a technological lead: it holds the most patents related to medical coatings in China, has won the China Patent Award, and has been selected as a national specialized and innovative "little giant". From formula development, coating processes to testing equipment, Chen Hong's team is one of the few global players with a full-chain layout. Secondly, it has the power to set standards: when the industry was unsure how to evaluate the performance of medical coatings, they took the lead in formulating industry standards for the firmness of hydrophilic coatings on vascular internal devices, as well as evaluation standards for the anticoagulant and antibacterial properties of the devices, becoming the rule-setter. The most important aspect is the industrial implementation capability: "Transforming the pure research and development mindset of publishing papers into a product development mindset", forming a cross-disciplinary team, and enabling engineers who are accustomed to large-scale chemical production to precisely control the batch production of tons in a clean room, achieving a daring leap from academia to business. As an innovator in medical materials, Baishaifei has been listed on both lists in the second batch of national innovative medical materials "challenge-based" tasks with phosphatidylcholine-based polymers and new anti-thrombotic material ε-lysine-based polymers.
Facing the "high failure rate of professors' entrepreneurship" myth, Chen Hong believes that the key lies in two points: First, the transformation of the mindset. The mission of professors is to freely impart knowledge and educate students, as well as explore the unknown world and unknown laws. The core of entrepreneurs is to create commercial value to meet social needs. If one holds onto the professor's prestige without lowering one's standards to serve customers and fails to understand market demands, the enterprise will surely fail. Second, from pursuing perfection to being "good enough". Scientific research can strive for ultimate perfection, while business emphasizes precise satisfaction of market demands. "A good product is not necessarily published in top magazines, but it should be something that customers can actually use."
Nowadays, Chen Hong's focus has shifted to broader applications: using cell culture plates to "roll" the cells into cell spheres to serve in new drug research and organoid cultivation; applying silicone-free coatings to the rubber stoppers of pre-filled syringes to ensure that the efficacy of anti-cancer drugs is not affected; making the surfaces of detection consumables non-sticky and free of residues to enhance diagnostic accuracy, and many other scenarios. "There is no limit to coatings; they can enter every corner of life." She named the brand "Bai Shifu", meaning "Best for you" - technology for the betterment of humanity, with lasting trust.