What was your idea for this startup?
In the year In 2014, I learned that a friend of mine chose traditional treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma because of the high cost of Rituximab, a biological antibody and good therapeutic efficacy. At that time, there were no such advanced medical drugs in China. I realized that China does not have domestic companies that produce biological diagnostic equipment and pharmaceutical drugs. After studying at Yale Som, I identified in vitro diagnostic crude antibody material and flow cytometry antibodies as a good entry market in China and started ZXBio in China in 2017.
What is the problem you are trying to solve or the gap you are trying to fill?
For the in vitro diagnostic (IVD) and pharmaceutical industry, most of the raw materials for antibodies, diagnostic reagents and biological drugs are imported from foreign companies. China lacks the R&D and manufacturing capacity for these biological materials. I would like to fill a critical gap in the upstream value chain of China’s pharmaceutical and IVD industry and provide low-cost, high-quality diagnostic and medicinal products to local people.
What was the most important resource that Yale SOM provided for your startup?
Yale helped me develop a way of thinking about my personal and career development. I learned to strive for excellence while developing skills that are valuable in the marketplace. At Yale SOM, I was exposed to the world of finance, consulting, and business. I began to appreciate the whole landscape of the healthcare industry which helped me make decisions about my own career path. I worked as a clinical trial coordinator at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The experience helped me understand how bench science, drug development and clinical application work together.
What is the biggest milestone your startup has achieved since graduation?
Since its inception, ZXBio has developed and launched hundreds of diagnostic methods for cancer, infectious disease and immunology. We have built a 10,700 square foot antibody development platform and a 10,500 square foot GMP facility for antibody diagnostic reagent production. We will also operate a 20,000 square foot, third-party diagnostic center, and in 2022, we will launch a business center in Shanghai. Also In 2022, it raised pre-A round financing from China’s A-share listed IVD company, Zhejiang Orient Jin Biotech Co. One of the companies with the highest market value in the Chinese IVD market
