November 5 marks the 7th anniversary of Medicilon’s listing and the 90th anniversary of the founding of China Pharmaceutical University (CPU). Recently, Medicilon and the School of Life Science and Technology of CPU officially signed an industry-university research cooperation agreement. The two parties will carry out in depth collaboration in novel conjugate therapeutics, bridging the innovation chain from basic research and technical breakthroughs to industrial application and advancing high-quality industry-education integration.
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Joint Talent Development: Faculty exchanges and joint appointments, with Medicilon opening its internship, training and recruitment channels to CPU students. Medicilon will also fund corporate scholarships, bursaries and startup support, creating a route for graduates into innovative drug R&D.
Joint Platform Development: The two parties will establish the CPU–Medicilon Joint Laboratory for Key Technologies in Novel Conjugate Drugs, sharing instruments and analytical resources. Initial work will focus on the co-design of novel payload-linker systems for AOCs and ADCs, conjugation technologies and process optimization.
Collaborative Research: Joint applications for national, provincial and municipal science and technology programs, natural science foundation grants and industry funding. The partners will also carry out targeted technical studies, sample testing, data analysis and technical validation, with Medicilon’s platforms supporting pilot-scale production, process validation and industrialization.
Academic Exchange: Joint forums, technical seminars, industry salons and student competitions, along with staff visits, academic exchanges, further study, coauthored publications and joint applications for research awards.
Technology Transfer: CPU will provide technical consulting, contract research and problem-solving support to Medicilon. In the other direction, CPU’s research outputs will use Medicilon’s platforms to move through pilot scale-up and into commercialization.
Chunlin Chen,Chairman and CEO of Medicilon
Novel conjugate drugs are one of the most competitive areas in global drug innovation, and they depend on both core technologies and specialized talent. This collaboration with CPU is part of Medicilon’s effort to align our work with national priorities in biomedicine and to build capability in frontier technologies. Working directly with CPU’s research and training programs should shorten the path from basic research to industrial application.
Qinghua Hu,Dean of the School of Life Science and Technology and Dean of the School of Biopharmaceuticals, China Pharmaceutical University
Medicilon has worked in biomedicine for more than two decades and has deep experience in novel conjugate drugs; its platforms and development track record fit closely with our school’s research strengths. This partnership is a practical step in organized research and in training students alongside industry. It gives our faculty and students a route from the laboratory to application, and helps move research results into use.