Why is synthetic biology an important engine for new quality productivity?
We need to develop strategic emerging industries such as biomanufacturing, commercial aerospace, and low altitude economy, and open up new tracks for future industries such as quantum and life sciences.
Key terms such as "new quality productivity", "biomanufacturing", and "life sciences" have pointed out the direction for technological innovation to lead industrial innovation. Synthetic biology, as a disruptive cutting-edge technology, has become an emerging "golden race track", and China's synthetic biology industry is rapidly developing with a proactive attitude.
China has a natural advantage in synthetic biology
In the recent program "Shanghai Stock Exchange · Hard Science Hard Customer", experts participating in the discussion generally believe that synthetic biotechnology is revolutionary, and the synthetic biology industry is not only an important strategic emerging industry, but also an important component of the future industry.
They believe that China has significant advantages in the field of synthetic biotechnology and is expected to become a global leader in the future.
Experts believe that the future development potential of the synthetic biology industry is enormous, and it is currently only in its infancy. The main advantages of China in the field of synthetic biology include: the extensive market demand brought by its large population base.
the high attention and corresponding funding and policy support from the government for the development of synthetic biology, a rich reserve of scientific research talents, a sound supply chain system, and long-term deep cultivation in the field of fermentation technology, which has enabled China to take a leading position in the production of biomaterials such as amino acids, vitamins, and medical raw materials worldwide.
Synthetic biology is an important engine for new quality productivity
The development of synthetic biotechnology is changing the traditional way humans acquire material resources and promoting the rapid development of high-quality productivity.
Lin Jun, Vice Dean of Changzhou Institute of Synthetic Biology Industry at Nanjing Normal University, explained, "Products manufactured by synthetic biology have the potential to replace about 70% of chemical manufacturing products, and are expected to significantly reduce energy consumption, raw material consumption, and air pollution in industrial production processes, heralding a new revolution in the field of life sciences.
At the recent Fuyuan Investment Summit and 2023 Investor Conference, Zhao Yan, Chairman and President of Huaxi Biology, delivered a speech titled "Synthetic Biotechnology Supports the Accelerated Development of New Quality Productivity in Biological Manufacturing". She shared her insights on how to promote the development of new quality productivity through the biomanufacturing industry.
Zhao Yan proposed that the development of new quality productivity requires abandoning the traditional economic growth model and instead promoting and supporting high-quality development through the development path of enhancing productivity. She pointed out that in the industries designated as the main battlefield of new quality productivity by the country, biomanufacturing is the key engine driving the development of new quality productivity.
The development of biomanufacturing cannot be separated from the support of biotechnology. The biomanufacturing supported by synthetic biotechnology represents the future development direction, and it has the ability to reshape the way resources are utilized on Earth. In theory, over 60% of the substances on Earth can be obtained through biomanufacturing supported by synthetic biotechnology.
Synthetic biotechnology can overturn traditional methods of material acquisition and is a key technological support for achieving green manufacturing and dual carbon goals.
The field of synthetic biology is advancing rapidly and has enormous potential
In the past five years, the global synthetic biology industry has experienced rapid growth, with the market size increasing from $5.3 billion in 2018 to over $17 billion in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 27%. It is expected that by 2028, the global synthetic biology market will grow to nearly $50 billion.
On April 14th, the above data was released at the "2024 Shanghai Synthetic Biology Innovation Summit and Shanghai Synthetic Biology Innovation Center unveiling ceremony" held at the Zhangjiang Science Hall in Shanghai.
The characteristic of the synthetic biology industry lies in its role as a typical interdisciplinary field, covering a series of technical processes from upstream chassis design and strain construction, to midstream fermentation condition optimization, and downstream separation and extraction.
This field not only applies molecular biology techniques and AI deep learning methods, but also involves technologies such as fermentation process amplification, fluid mechanics, and separation and extraction preparation.
The development of micro nano technology has provided the possibility to create efficient 'desktop factories'.
As a cutting-edge science that integrates biology, engineering, and information technology, synthetic biology is expected to lead humanity into a new stage of "material freedom", change traditional production methods, and promote industrial transformation.
Qian Xuhong, an academician of the CAE Member and president of East China Normal University, emphasized in the report that the development of synthetic biology is of great significance for exploring new underlying technologies of macro industry.
He metaphorically said that it is like the tiny pipes drilled inside the leaves by the leaf miner, which are the original templates for future factories.
In June 2020, Shanghai launched the "Over limit Manufacturing" municipal major science and technology project. Compared with traditional factories, manufacturing factories based on micro nano technology may only require one desktop space to accommodate them in the future.
Academician Qian Xuhong predicts that in the future, such factories will be smaller and more microscopic, but with higher efficiency.
He gave an example to illustrate that using existing processes, a azide workshop with an annual production capacity of 500 tons of drugs requires an area of 2300 square meters, a reaction time of up to 60 hours, and a large amount of reagents that are prone to explosion;
After adopting micro nano chemical technology, equipment with the same production capacity only needs to occupy an area of 180 square meters, the reaction residence time is shortened to 10 minutes, and the amount of reagents used is reduced to one-third of the original.
The nucleic acid framework design is used for the development of intelligent molecular machines. Professor Liu Mingyao, Director of the Institute of Life Medicine at East China Normal University, introduced the latest progress of synthetic biology in improving CAR-T cell therapy.
They adopted a non viral PD1 site integration method for CAR-T cells, avoiding the defects of using viral vectors and achieving significant therapeutic effects in clinical practice.
Fan Chunhai, an academician of the CAS Member and professor Wang Kuancheng of Shanghai Jiaotong University, demonstrated the rigid frame structure constructed by new nucleic acids.
Unlike traditional single stranded or double stranded nucleic acids, this artificially synthesized novel nucleic acid can be precisely arranged in nanoscale space and immobilize molecules such as antibodies onto it.
Academician Fan Chunhai explained that the number of antigens on the surface of the common cold virus is large and easy to be recognized and captured by antibodies, while the number of antigens on the surface of AIDS virus is small, making it difficult to capture antibodies.
The nucleic acid framework provides an effective tool to help design more active antibodies to combat more covert viruses.
Data is a core element in building new research paradigms in synthetic biology. As a highly integrated product of life technology and information technology, synthetic biology is currently at a critical stage of development driven by artificial intelligence.
Zhao Guoping, an academician of the CAS Member, pointed out in the report that data has become the core element of constructing a new research paradigm in the field of synthetic biology.
Academician Zhao Guoping emphasized that in the face of the explosive growth of biomedical research and application data, how to systematize and standardize these data is an important challenge.
He proposed that establishing a biomedical data governance system is a fundamental technological project that will provide stable support for the development of other research fields.
