BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Inside a former hardware factory in Beijing's Haidian District, space once occupied by metalworking machinery will soon accommodate fermenters, enzyme-reaction vessels and purification lines designed to move the production of complex glycans from laboratory development toward commercial use.

The plant is being built by HealthSyn Biotechnology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a startup developing human milk oligosaccharides, complex glycans naturally found in human milk. Jiao Siming, founder and chief executive officer of the startup, described it as a "small but complete" demonstration facility where customers can see the production process and research teams can access pilot-scale testing services.

The facility is taking shape at Jinnovation Park-Coresci, a park converted from a former hardware factory dating back to 1958. Workshops once used for conventional hardware production are now being adapted to support research and development (R&D), pilot-scale testing and small-batch production across four fields: biomanufacturing, high-end medical equipment, advanced materials and embodied intelligence.

As HealthSyn moves from laboratory research toward commercial production, the former hardware factory is taking on a new role as a base for emerging and future industries. Together, their transformations illustrate China's efforts to strengthen links between R&D, pilot-scale testing and industrial application.

RESEARCH TO APPLICATION

China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) calls for building a full-chain system to foster future industries and developing fields, such as biomanufacturing and embodied intelligence, into new growth drivers.

Jinnovation Park-Coresci provides startups with support throughout their development, including flexible space for R&D and pilot production, shared technical platforms, regulatory and clinical assistance, industry connections and access to financing, said Zhang Lin, head of the industrial development department at Beijing BBMG Asset Operation Co., Ltd., the company behind the project.

Under plans announced in 2025, China aims to cultivate more than 20 pilot-scale testing platforms for biomanufacturing by 2027, with the goal of serving over 200 enterprises and incubating more than 400 products.

Pilot-scale testing serves as an intermediate step between laboratory development and large-scale industrial production. The planned platforms will focus on key product areas including food and food additives, biopharmaceutical products, cosmetics, chemicals, energy and enzyme preparations, while promoting collaborative innovation along industrial chains.

Drawing on about five years of scale-up work by its founding team, HealthSyn plans to open the facility as a shared pilot-scale testing platform, using its equipment and dedicated staff to help research teams test processes and move toward factory production, Jiao said.

At the local level, Beijing introduced measures in 2025 to strengthen contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) platforms, provide earlier regulatory support and encourage medical institutions and companies to establish medical device training and application demonstration centers.

Beijing Shuimu Dongfang Medical Technology Co., Ltd. (Shuimu Dongfang), another incoming tenant, operates a medical device CDMO platform.

Chen Xi, deputy general manager of the company, said medical robot projects often stall because research teams lack suitable facilities, process expertise, regulatory knowledge and access to clinical resources. The platform combines contract development and manufacturing services with validation facilities, connections to clinical institutions and regulatory support, to address these gaps.

HealthSyn's planned pilot-scale testing platform and Shuimu Dongfang's medical device CDMO platform are expected to anchor the park's efforts to attract companies, projects and talent along biomanufacturing and medical device industrial chains.

CO-LOCATION TO COLLABORATION

Interior fit-out work is underway across the park with tenants preparing laboratories, testing lines and small-batch production spaces in the former workshops. As companies from different technology-intensive industries establish operations at the site, the park aims to encourage technical collaboration and closer supplier-customer links.

Zhang said the park organizes investment roadshows, introduces companies to investors, research institutions and hospitals, and encourages tenants to work together on technical problems and supply-chain needs.

Guohua Dingli, a Beijing-based humanoid robotics company, has leased the park's entire A3 R&D building, where construction is set to begin on a production line for humanoid robot joints and a final assembly line. "The park has expanded our network, as tenants can become each other's customers and build an industrial ecosystem together," said Yu Liangfeng, an executive with the company.

Jiao said the Coresci site is more accessible than HealthSyn's current pilot facility in Huairou, a suburban district in northeastern Beijing, and is closer to institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tsinghua University, Peking University and the innovation hub of Zhongguancun in Beijing.

A graduate of the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he said this proximity would make it easier to recruit researchers and collaborate with research teams as HealthSyn builds its global R&D center.

Jiao said Haidian District has provided funding and talent support. As part of the district's plan to develop a local biomanufacturing cluster, HealthSyn plans to open its pilot-scale testing platform to other research teams and help draw projects, specialists and companies along the industrial chain to the district.

Shuimu Dongfang plans to use its standalone building as a training, validation and incubation base for high-end medical equipment. Chen said it will house validation lines and training facilities for medical robots, and the company plans to work with hospitals and universities in Beijing and elsewhere in China on clinical validation and joint research.

At Coresci, former factory buildings with ceiling heights of up to 10 meters, floor load capacities of up to 1.6 tonnes per square meter and large logistics passageways, can accommodate large medical equipment, robot production lines and biomanufacturing equipment.

When HealthSyn's plant begins operation early next year, visitors will be able to follow the production process from enzyme preparation and synthesis through purification to final packaging. Elsewhere in the park, medical device platforms, robotics companies, research teams and investors are being brought into closer contact.

By preserving its industrial function while shifting from conventional hardware production to R&D, engineering and higher-value manufacturing, the site offers a tangible example of China's manufacturing upgrade. ■