How will AI technology affect the vaccine industry? Recently, Zhu Tao, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chief Scientific Officer of CanSino Biologics, said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from Shanghai Securities News that with the outbreak of generative AI technology, the pharmaceutical industry is undergoing an efficiency revolution and will help solve the homogeneity dilemma.

In the field of biomedicine, innovation and globalization are eternal themes. As a leading company in China's vaccine industry, CanSino Biologics has repeatedly delivered outstanding results in recent years with its forward-looking technology research and development and international layout.

Zhu Tao told reporters that the ultimate mission of Chinese vaccine companies is not just commercial success. "Our enemy is always disease." In Zhu Tao's view, whether it is AI empowerment or globalization, the ultimate goal is to contribute Chinese wisdom to human health.

From tools to efficiency revolution, AI solves the dilemma of homogeneity

In Zhu Tao's view, AI is not only a tool, but also a "catalyst" to accelerate vaccine research and development. "From protein structure prediction to clinical report writing, AI is infiltrating the entire research and development process." He cited the example that traditional clinical data analysis takes months, while AI tools can compress the cycle to weeks, "which means that the product launch time can be greatly advanced."

CanSino has actively embraced AI. Zhu Tao revealed that the company is using AI to optimize antigen design, improve protein expression efficiency, and try to use generative AI for clinical program writing and commercial promotion. "For example, AI can generate unified and accurate product introductions to help medical staff quickly understand the characteristics of vaccines." He said that the changes in AI technology continue to lower the threshold for learning, "Just like the popularization of computers, AI will eventually become the industry standard."

However, technological iteration also brings challenges. Zhu Tao said frankly: "Innovative companies need to actively embrace AI, choose to adapt to scenario applications, and maximize efficiency while controlling costs."

The domestic vaccine industry has long been questioned for its R&D concentration and insufficient innovation. Zhu Tao did not shy away from saying, "In the past, domestic vaccines mostly took the 'me-too' path, but with policy support and upgraded market demand, 'me-better' and even 'first-in-class' products are becoming a trend."

He took CanSino's R&D strategy as an example and said, "Usually, we adhere to the 'first five principles' - if more than five companies with similar products have entered clinical trials, we will no longer follow up." This concept of "not repeating innovation" has driven the company to focus on differentiated technology routes. For example, CanSino's globally innovative recombinant polio vaccine (VLP-Polio) can use insect cells to express virus-like particles, completely eliminating the risks of live viruses during production and vaccination. This technology route is listed by the World Health Organization as "one of the preferred options for eradicating polio." The product received more than $17 million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2024 and started clinical trials in Indonesia.

In addition, the company is laying out cutting-edge fields such as multi-component vaccines and inhaled vaccines. "Children under 6 months old in China need more injections, and combined vaccines are urgently needed to reduce pain." Zhu Tao introduced that CanSino's combination vaccine of DTP-Hibacterium influenzae type b (combined)-quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine based on the infant component DTP has been approved for clinical trials.

Zhu Tao also paid attention to the transformation of medical innovation results. Medical innovation results, especially vaccines, are related to public health security. Some existing policies and mechanisms are relatively complex and the process is long, which affects the efficiency of results transformation.

In this regard, he suggested optimizing the approval process, while further facilitating market access, reducing unnecessary links, and ensuring that medical innovation results such as vaccines enter the market faster after approval and cover the required groups. In addition, increase financial support and tax incentives, provide economic support for key innovation projects, and expand the scope of tax exemptions.

From "going overseas" to "deepening localization" to achieve global breakthrough

Innovation is a must-answer question for CanSino, and so is internationalization.

In 2024, the company's quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine "Manhaixin" was approved and halal certified in Indonesia. Zhu Tao attributed this breakthrough to the "localization strategy" - not only meeting the regulatory requirements of the target country, but also respecting cultural differences. For example, halal certification is the key to entering the Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

Previously, the overseas layout of the new crown vaccine has accumulated valuable experience for CanSino. "Our new crown vaccine has been registered in more than 10 countries and has established trust with local regulators." Zhu Tao said that the company will replicate this cooperation model to other product lines, such as jointly developing vaccines for local epidemics with Southeast Asian countries, "both serving local needs and preventing the risk of future diseases being imported into the country."

In the process of globalization, CanSino also feels the current situation of "difficulty in going overseas" for Chinese vaccine companies. Zhu Tao noted that my country has passed the WHO's vaccine regulatory assessment for more than 10 years, but only 11 vaccines have passed the WHO prequalification (PQ), which is far lower than countries such as India. Due to the lack of special regulatory paths and supporting documents for "export-only" drugs, drug supervision and customs departments at all levels have difficulties in implementation during the regulatory process.

Zhu Tao called for learning from international experience and cooperating with organizations such as the WHO to coordinate standards in different countries. At the same time, a regulatory path will be established that is suitable for China's national conditions and in line with international standards, shortening the registration period. In addition, the regulatory system will be improved, PQ pre-examination will be used as proof of drug export sales, and the export regulatory system will be improved to enhance international competitiveness. Through these measures, the international market competitiveness of Chinese vaccine companies will be enhanced, and more vaccine products will be promoted to enter the international market.

Talking about the future, Zhu Tao positioned CanSino as a "global vaccine supplier based in China". The company is relying on five major technology platforms to deploy cutting-edge fields such as mRNA vaccines and broad-spectrum pneumococcal protein vaccines, and is promoting the nucleic acid industry alliance in Tianjin to integrate upstream and downstream resources. In his view, new technologies are iterating rapidly, and only by building an ecosystem can we continue to lead.

This sense of mission may be the answer to CanSino's balance between innovation and responsibility.

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