For the first time in 29 years, the industry's most important annual investment conference, the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, added a track to focus on a single country - China.  Fourteen China life science companies presented their results and plans to a standing-room-only crowd.  The China reception that evening was filled with the who's-who of China's life science industry, from CEOs to VCs to global pharma execs.  China is rapidly coming of age. More details....

We have just concluded our 4th ChinaBio® Investor Forum - our first in Beijing - and I'm on my way back to the US thinking about the event (it was a great success) and what the speakers said about the economic turmoil and how it may - or may not - affect China. At our event, the energy level seemed quite high and the general mood was very upbeat. But we can't ignore that the economy is slowing in China. So, peering out from our insular view from China's life science and healthcare industry, it would seem that things are pretty rosy, especially considering the turmoil elsewhere.  But is it?  More details...

Greg Scott, our Executive Editor, responds to the Genetic Engineering News article (GEN article) and our story (CBT story) on the FDA's plans to open a new office in Beijing based on his direct experience in China. Besides clarifying details in the original story, he predicts that additional FDA offices may be opening in China, and that the lack of FDA experience in China is a temporary issue.  Dr. Qimin Zhan, Chief Scientist of the most significant support program for early stage drug development in China, provided additional insight into China's plans for the industry at the recent BioBay Investor Forum in Suzhou, presented by ChinaBio.  More details...

Unless you were riding on the Mars lander this May, you know that the largest earthquake ever to hit land shook the Sichuan province in China to its core on May 12. As I write this piece, about two weeks later, I am sitting stranded in the Chengdu airport, about an hour’s drive from Wenchuan, the epicenter of the quake. Well, it would be an hour if there were roads to get there, which there aren’t. What does all of this have to do with biomedtech? Not much really – other than we in the industry are very lucky. We have our health and some of us even a little wealth or at least a steady income, and we don’t worry too much about death from disasters. So maybe it’s time to give a little bit back to the less fortunate, and help China recover from this great disaster. More details... 

OK, this isn’t really about surfing – it’s about the investment climate in California life science. But there are some interesting parallels – and inverse – relationships to surfing. The Bay Area is famous for the gnarly Mavericks – one of the most awesome big wall surfing spots in the world, with waves as high as 60 feet at times. It is a do-or-die kind of ride, one that only a few are capable of attempting, let alone surviving. San Diego, on the other hand, has many more beaches and great places to catch waves, although they’re generally tamer.  How does this relate to life science investing? More details...

Our Executive Editor, Greg Scott, answers questions about the state of China biotech in interviews conducted by CCTV in Beijing, and Windhover Information in the US. He discusses the size of China biopharma, recent changes, new policy initiatives, outsourcing and he looks forward to predict the trends coming in the future.  More details... 

Things happen quickly in China. They’ve even coined a phrase for it – “China Speed.” In December 2007, some colleagues and I managed to stage an event we had been discussing for almost a year – the ChinaBio® Investor Forum. We wanted to bring together early stage biotechnology companies based or operating in China, with leading VCs from around the world in a first-class investor forum. Were we nuts? We had less than six weeks to pull together a major conference from scratch.  But, thanks to “China Speed” and a lot of help, we did it.  See how...