At the recent ChinaBio® Partnering Forum, held May 11-13 in Beijing, the theme was “Capturing Innovation.” The Forum featured an Innovation Showcase where 29 researchers invited by ChinaBio presented their novel research in China life science. Out of this highly qualified group, three scientists were selected to receive ChinaBio’s Most Promising Technology award.

Each of the three winners has completed early research on novel drugs: two seek better treatments for cancer and one is aimed at patients with hyperlipidemia.

The three awards were given to:

• Professor Dexian Zheng from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College for Novel Anti-human DR5 mAbs for Cancer Therapies;

• Professor Weihua Xiao from University of Science and Technology of China, for Development of Therapeutic Anti-p185Her2 Antibody chA21; and

• Professor Bao-Liang Song from the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for Inhibition of SREBP by Betulin Lowers Hyperlipidemia and Insulin Resistance and Reduces Atherosclerotic Plaques.

Abstracts of the work, together with biographies of the scientists, are available at the bottom of this article. A complete list of the researchers presenting at the Innovation Showcase are listed here.

To uncover the innovative research, ChinaBio® invited leading professors from over 100 universities and institutes throughout China to present. Although all of the professors were not able to attend the ChinaBio® Partnering Forum event, twenty-nine presented their research to an enthusiastic audience at the event. The winners were chosen on the basis of their projects’ innovation, commercialization, patent position, and the quality of the research data on the discovery.

ChinaBio® Partnering Forum was co-organized by ChinaBio® LLC and EBD Group. This year’s event attracted 658 attendees from 370 companies and 25 countries, making it the largest business-oriented life sciences conference in China. Next year’s ChinaBio® Partnering Forum will be held in Suzhou on May 23-24.



Prof. Dexian Zheng – Professor and PI of Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences of CAMS.

Technology: Novel Anti-human DR5 mAbs for Cancer Therapy

Prof. Zheng’s innovation disclosed a novel monoclonal antibody, specifically targeting and activating DR5, which can lead to the apoptosis of cancer cells with significant tumoricidal activity and increased safety. Meanwhile, two PCT patents for this innovation were filed and two more patents were granted separately in the US and Austria.

Biography: Dexian Zheng received a BS degree in biology in Peking University in 1970. After graduation, he worked as a biochemical teacher in Peking University Pharmaceutical Factory for eight years. From 1979 to 1982, Dr. Zheng was a postgraduate in PUMC, majoring in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; in 1985 he entered a doctoral program co-sponsored by PUMC and FDA, and earned a PhD in 1989. After graduation, Dr. Zheng received postdoctoral training at NIH. From 1993 to 1995, he worked as a visiting professor in Harvard Medical School. In 1995, Dr. Zheng was appointed as the Chief of State Key Lab of Experimental Hematology in CAMS and in 1998 he was also appointed as the Director of Technology Transfer of PUMC. In 2001, Dr. Zheng was nominated as the Dean of Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, CAMS and he held this position until 2005. Now he is the professor and PI of Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences of CAMS. Prof. Zheng’s research focuses on lymphocyte receptor, immunity regulation, apoptosis and cancer gene therapy.


Prof. Weihua Xiao -- Professor in the University of Science & Technology of China.

Technology: Development of Therapeutic Anti-p185Her2 Antibody chA21

Professor Xiao developed chA21, an engineered chimeric anti-ErbB2 monoclonal antibody that recognizes the distinct epitope on ErbB2 receptor from other anti-ErbB2 antibodies such as Herceptin. When it is used together with Paclitaxel or Trastuzu-mab, the anti-tumor activity is significantly enhanced on ErbB2-overexpressing breast and ovarian cancer in both in vitro and xenograft mice.

Biography: Professor Xiao has been a Professor in the University of Science & Technology of China since Oct. 2004. Prior to that, he worked as a scientist in NCI-Frederick, NIH, USA between Jul. 1998 and Oct. 2004. He carried out a postdoctoral project in University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center from 1995 to 1998. He graduated from Norman Bethune University of Medical Science in 1985 and received a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in 2002. His areas of research interest are signal transduction (in cancer and immunity), the biology of dendritic cells (molecular mechanisms of activation and maturation), and biotechnology and biological drug development.


Prof. Bao-Liang Song -- Principal Investigator, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology.

Technology: Inhibition of SREBP by Betulin Improves Hyperlipidemia and Insulin Resistance and Reduces Atherosclerotic Plaques

Professor Song discovered that SREBP controls the biosynthesis of cholesterol, fatty acids and triglyceride. Aiming at the SREBP target, Prof. Song found the compound, Betulin, inhibits the SREBP pathway and decreases lipid biosynthesis, lowering diet-induced obesity, reducing triglycerides, increasing insulin sensitivity and decreasing cholesterol level and preventing atherosclerosis.

Biography: Bao-Liang Song received a BA degree in Biology in 1997 from Nanjing University, China and earned a PhD from Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology in 2002. From 2002 to 2005, Dr. Bao-Liang Song received post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Drs. Joseph L. Goldstein and Michael S. Brown at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and he worked with Dr. Russell DeBose-Boyd on the degradation of HMG-CoA reductase. He joined Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology as Principal Investigator in 2005. He was appointed as Chief Scientist by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China in 2008, and won China National Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists in 2009. Prof. Song’s current research focuses on the key proteins for cholesterol metabolism and their regulation.