November 13, 2023 – The 14th China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition National Final for the Biopharmaceutical Track was held in Haikou, Hainan, from November 11 to 13. Following a rigorous selection process in regional competitions, 228 high-quality biopharmaceutical projects advanced to the national stage to compete.
With an outstanding performance, Westlake Pharma secured first place in its semi-final group, successfully advancing to the final round where it ultimately achieved the national third-place ranking, earning a Second Prize. This accomplishment highlights Westlake Pharma's technological leadership and commercialization potential in the field of AI-powered drug discovery.
The China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition, hosted by the Torch High Technology Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, is one of China's most prestigious, largest-scale, and most influential brand competitions. This year's competition featured five industry tracks: new generation information technology, high-end equipment manufacturing, new materials, biopharmaceuticals, and a combined track for new energy, new energy vehicles, and energy conservation/environmental protection.
Since its launch, this year's competition received applications from nearly 30,000 enterprises nationwide. After multiple rounds of selection at the regional level, 228 leading biopharmaceutical projects were selected for the national final. Contestants competed in the semi-finals and finals, with one First, one Second, and one Third Prize awarded in the Start-up Group, and one First, two Second, and three Third Prizes awarded in the Growth-Stage Group.
In the Growth-Stage Group competition, Westlake Pharma distinguished itself with its project, "The Westlake AI Drug Discovery Platform," achieving an excellent result.
The company's representative presented a systematic overview of the proprietary AI drug discovery platform, WAND, to the judges, detailing its design philosophy and technical advantages. Using real-world pipeline examples, the presentation provided an in-depth analysis of how Westlake Pharma leverages AI to improve the precision and efficiency of drug R&D.
The judging panel, composed of industry experts and veteran investors, highly recognized Westlake Pharma for its strong technical capabilities, clear commercialization strategy, and professional, articulate presentation.
Notably, during the earlier regional stage, Westlake Pharma had already demonstrated its strength by winning first place in the Zhejiang provincial competition for the biopharmaceutical track.
Since its inception in 2012, the China Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition has attracted over 350,000 enterprises and teams, facilitated over 100 billion RMB in financing, and nurtured more than 200 publicly listed companies. This year's biopharmaceutical track focused on cutting-edge fields such as innovative medicines, medical devices, and digital health, aiming to discover a new wave of source innovation projects with disruptive potential, promote the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, and optimize the innovation ecosystem.
This award is a dual affirmation of Westlake Pharma's technological strength and industrialization capabilities, and our entire team is greatly encouraged. Looking ahead, Westlake Pharma will continue to deepen its innovation in foundational technologies, driving the profound integration of AI and life sciences to contribute to the high-quality development of China's biopharmaceutical industry. The team also looks forward to collaborating with more industry partners to build an efficient R&D ecosystem, accelerating the journey of innovative drugs from lab to clinic and, ultimately, to the patients who need them.