CMC-China Expo 2025

Top 20 Preclinical CROs in China

Dr. Jinna Cai

Medicilon received the “2025 China’s Top 20 Preclinical CROs for New Drugs” award for its outstanding preclinical research services. 

Upon accepting the award, Medicilon CBO Dr. Jinna Cai highlighted Medicilon’s dedication to technological innovation, service quality, and enabling global drug development with high-quality preclinical research services.

Medicilon Experts

Professor Shuangqing Peng

CGT Forum, led by Medicilon CSO Professor Shuangqing Peng, highlighted the transformative potential of cell and gene therapy in treating intractable diseases. Prof. Peng emphasized that this rapidly expanding field, fueled by research, technology, investment, and favorable policies, is witnessing a surge in clinical-stage drug development programs.

In the era of precision medicine and burgeoning biopharmaceuticals, Medicilon remains committed to serving the global pharmaceutical industry’s innovation needs. Leveraging its extensive experience, Medicilon offers a comprehensive technology platform and preclinical drug development services. This forum will focus on global CGT therapy development, cutting-edge technologies, and clinical treatment, fostering discussion on innovation opportunities and breakthroughs.

Dr. Baohong Cao

Dr. Baohong Cao, VP of Pharmacology at Medicilon, presented on preclinical efficacy evaluation of cell therapy drugs, highlighting their potential in regenerative medicine, immune regulation, and tumor killing. The presentation traced cell therapy’s evolution from bone marrow transplants to CAR-T therapy, emphasizing its transformative impact as a “living drug” technology with dynamic responsiveness and personalized treatment potential across stem cell repair, immune regulation, and targeted cancer therapies.

Despite successes, Dr. Cao addressed safety risks (CRS, neurotoxicity, off-target effects), challenges in solid tumor penetration and durable efficacy, high costs, and ethical concerns. He underscored the importance of preclinical efficacy evaluation, showcasing Medicilon’s capabilities in assessing cell therapies using diverse models (CDX, PDX, humanized PBMC/HSC, orthotopic transplantation). This approach facilitates overcoming challenges, optimizing technologies like dual-target and switchable CARs, and ensuring safe, effective cell therapy development.

Medicilon’s comprehensive CGT R&D service platform offers one-stop preclinical research services, including pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, bioanalysis, and safety evaluation. With a wide range of animal models and advanced techniques, Medicilon has successfully completed preclinical development for numerous client CGT programs, tailored to each project’s unique characteristics. By June 2025, Medicilon has successfully supported the clinical approval of 7 cell therapy drugs and has multiple cell therapy projects under development. 

Dr. Yan Bin

Dr. Yan Bin, Head of Medicilon’s ADC Platform, presented an insightful overview of “Iterative Strategies for ADC Drug Development,” covering the evolving ADC market and recent innovations. He emphasized advancements in linker technology, including PSARlink™ and TMALIN, which improve ADC safety and efficacy by enhancing stability, hydrophilicity, and precise drug release, overcoming limitations of traditional ADCs related to target antigen expression, non-target cell endocytosis, and tumor penetration. Dr. Yan also highlighted the potential of non-internalizing ADCs to expand the therapeutic range and maximize the bystander effect by targeting cancer cell surface antigens.

Medicilon’s comprehensive preclinical R&D platform supports ADC drug development, from linker design and conjugation to in vitro/in vivo evaluation. With a proven track record, Medicilon has successfully supported 30 ADC drug approvals for clinical trials as of June 2025 and continues to advance multiple ADC projects. Medicilon has become a leading ADC CRO by offering tailored, integrated ADC preclinical research plans, rigorous execution, and high-quality results, encompassing payload synthesis, conjugation, efficacy evaluation, pharmacokinetics, and safety assessment.

Medicilon Booth, Hall D – DJ05 

Medicilon showcased its one-stop preclinical R&D services at Hall D-DJ05, attracting attendees interested in its expertise in CGTs, ADCs, nucleic acid drugs, peptide drugs, and antibodies. The team’s hospitality and in-depth consultations were well-received by clients.