On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the founding of Fudan University, Zhu Yi, a 1984 graduate of the Department of Biology and founder, chairman, and chief scientific officer of Sichuan Baili Tianheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., as well as the founder and chairman of Syst Immune, Inc. (Seattle Immunology), donated RMB 30 million in cash to establish the "Fudan University Baili Tianheng Distinguished Professor" project, supporting Fudan University in nurturing a group of outstanding technology leaders in areas such as "Innovative Drug Target Discovery" and "Brain and Brain like Intelligence Research".

Zhu Yi once said in an interview that whether it is basic research or product innovation, real talents are always scarce. The insight and scientific beliefs possessed by innovative talents are important factors in promoting the development of enterprises. The establishment of the "Fudan University Baili Tianheng Distinguished Professor" project is also due to Zhu Yi's emphasis on scientific research innovation and talent cultivation.

Everyone only has one life, and the discovery and research of innovative drug targets have extraordinary value for living better and longer. The study of brain and brain like intelligence is of great significance for humans to explore the unknown world and answer the ultimate question of what human intelligence is. "Zhu Yi said that Fudan, as a comprehensive research university, has a very good scientific research foundation in the fields of drug target discovery and brain and brain like intelligence research, and has leading advantages in interdisciplinary research.

At the same time, the establishment of the "Fudan University Baili Tianheng Distinguished Professor" project will also provide more favorable support and guarantee for cutting-edge scientific research talents. To conduct research in cutting-edge fields, we need a group of excellent scientists and teachers. We hope this project can support these outstanding talents to concentrate on research at Fudan University without any worries, "said Zhu Yi.

In his view, on the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the founding of his alma mater, donating to establish the "Fudan University Baili Tianheng Distinguished Professor" project is not only a contribution to Fudan's research and exploration in cutting-edge fields, but also a way for him to give back to his alma mater. "My involvement in the biopharmaceutical industry is closely related to the education my alma mater has given me in the past.

After graduating from the Radio Physics major at Sichuan University, Zhu Yi was admitted to the Master's program in Biophysics at Fudan University. "Whether it's making generic drugs or innovative drugs, there is always a knowledge framework of biology behind them," Zhu Yi said. His learning experience at Fudan University laid a solid foundation for himself, and this experience also cultivated his attention to details and data analysis ability.

After graduating with a master's degree, he conducted research on microbial immunity at a university for a period of time. Constrained by the limited scientific research conditions and funding at the time, he decided to establish his own enterprise to promote the translation and implementation of more research results, eager to make breakthroughs in drug research and development.

In 1996, the predecessor of Baili Tianheng, Baili Pharmaceutical, registered and established a factory in Wenjiang, Sichuan. In 2010, Baili Tianheng shifted its focus to the development of small molecule innovative drugs and established a research and development center in Chengdu two years later. In 2014, Baili Tianheng established a research and development center SystImmune, Inc. in Seattle, USA, focusing on cutting-edge research in anti-tumor antibody drugs, including the development of innovative drugs such as bispecific antibodies and ADCs. Afterwards, SystImmune, Inc. established the GNC multi antibody research and development platform, further enriching its innovative drug development pipeline. The establishment of these two research and development centers has built up the innovative biopharmaceutical research and development system of Baili Tianheng across China and the United States.

In this context, Zhu Yi led the company to start the research and development of BL-B01D1 in 2014, aiming for this goal for nearly a decade. As the world's first EGFR x HER3 dual antibody ADC, BL-B01D1 has become an important advancement in the field of cancer treatment due to its unique mechanism of action and broad therapeutic potential.

In December 2023, Baili Tianheng and BMS reached a cooperation agreement on the BL-B01D1 project with a down payment of 800 million US dollars and a potential total transaction value of 8.4 billion US dollars. This not only broke the record for Chinese innovative drugs going global, but also marked the leap of the Chinese pharmaceutical industry from "following innovation" to "global innovation".

In the future, Zhu Yi looks forward to the opportunity for Baili Tianheng to further cooperate with Fudan University in the field of scientific research. He also hopes that the alma mater can gather more outstanding scientists and teachers, rely on Fudan University's profound scientific research foundation and cultural heritage, and make more cutting-edge explorations for human health and development.