(Beijing, February 10, 2025) - The Chinese Association of Pancreatology (CAP), and Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hengrui Pharma), signed a joint strategic cooperation agreement this morning in Beijing. The delegations that attended the event were led by Yupei Zhao, President of CAP, and Hongbin Dai, President of Hengrui Pharma.

The signing ceremony began on an enthusiastic note with introductory videos from both organizations, followed by Jianjun Chai, Secretary-General of CAP, and Shiwen Huo, Vice President of Hengrui Pharma, formally signing the agreement on behalf of their respective parties. The agreement makes Hengrui Pharma the first pharmaceutical company to establish a strategic partnership with CAP. 

Remarks by President Hongbin Dai

President Hongbin Dai stated that Hengrui Pharma, as a leading domestic innovator in pharmaceuticals, has consistently prioritized clinical needs and focused on disease characteristics prevalent in the Chinese population, while continuously increasing investments in innovative drug R&D. To date, the company has developed and launched 18 new molecular entities (class I new drugs ) and four other innovative drugs (Class 2 new drugs) in China, spanning multiple disease areas including pancreatic cancer. Additionally, more than 90 independent innovative products are under clinical development, and about 400 clinical trials are being carried out at home and abroad. Looking forward, both parties will work to strengthen cooperation in clinical research, talent development, international exchanges, and public science education. They will also accelerate the clinical transformation of innovative drugs, in an effort to achieve breakthrough advancements as quickly as possible so as to benefit pancreatic disease patients in China and worldwide.

Remarks by Academician Yupei Zhao

In his concluding remarks, Academician Yupei Zhao emphasized that innovation and internationalization are shared goals for both CAP and Hengrui Pharma. This collaboration reflects a mutual commitment to scientific progress and national responsibility. He expressed hope that this agreement will serve as a starting point to address pancreatic diseases—a critical clinical challenge and global medical issue—by implementing a number of directives from the National Health Commission, including improving grassroots access to high-quality medical resources, enhancing bilateral exchanges, generating more scientific achievements, launching the "Pancreatic Health China Initiative" public welfare project, establishing Chinese standards for pancreatic disease prevention and treatment, and contributing "Eastern Wisdom" to international guidelines. By working together, the two sides can strive to overcome the greatest challenges in pancreatic disease prevention and treatment, a goal akin to that of mountaineers who successfully scale Mount Everest.

Under the agreement, both parties will thoroughly implement the national strategy for scientific self-reliance, while focusing on key technological challenges in pancreatic diseases, and jointly establishing major research projects that aim to achieve "zero-to-one" breakthroughs. Together, they will build a three-in-one platform for the "publication, exchange, and evaluation" of research outcomes in order to promote "one-to-ten" scaling of innovations. The parties will also implement the National Health Commission’s guidelines on optimizing the layout of grassroots medical institutions, jointly establish projects for grassroots cooperation, and work to widely promote CAP's novel concepts, methods, technologies, and products to grassroots medical institutions nationwide, creating a system for implementation to go from "10 to 100".

Secretary-General Jianjun Chai and Vice President Shiwen Huo at the Agreement Signing Ceremony

Additionally, CAP and Hengrui Pharma will jointly promote international cooperation, support Asia-Pacific and global pancreatic disease summits, and organize branded academic conferences to enhance hospital management and oncology care capabilities. Both parties will collaborate on public education programs that raise awareness of pancreatic diseases and foster societal engagement in prevention and treatment efforts.

This strategic partnership represents a groundbreaking initiative in pancreatic disease prevention and treatment. By leveraging their respective strengths, CAP and Hengrui Pharma aim to elevate China’s healthcare capabilities in pancreatology, to improve public health outcomes, and to inject new momentum into the high-quality development of the field.

Group Photo Commemorating the Strategic Partnership Agreement

Institutional Profiles

About CAP

The Chinese Association of Pancreatology (CAP) is a national first-class association officially approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and formally registered in 2022. It is a professional, academic, and non-profit social organization comprising scholars dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, and research of pancreatic diseases. The aim of the CAP is to facilitate the implementation of the Party's health policy in the new era. Specifically, we are striving to promote the standardization, normalization, specialization, individualization, and internationalization of the diagnosis and treatment for pancreatic diseases in China by uniting medical professionals dedicated to pancreatic diseases nationwide. CAP will also endeavour to support the comprehensive development and capability enhancement of professionals in the field of pancreatic diseases, and to achieve comprehensive and high-quality development in diagnosis, treatment, research and prevention of pancreatic disease in China, with the ultimate goal of enhancing the health and well-being of the people. 

About Hengrui Pharma

Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. (Hengrui Pharma) is an innovative global pharmaceutical company focused on unmet clinical needs, with a strong track record of scientific and technological innovation. Since its first innovative drug approval in 2011, Hengrui Pharma has invested more than $5.5 billion in R&D and set up 14 R&D centers in Lianyungang, Shanghai, the U.S., and Europe. It has 12 major manufacturing sites and a global R&D team of more than 5,500 professionals. Hengrui Pharma has independently established a number of leading technology platforms such as its ADC platform, proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC), and bi/multi-specific antibodies, which provide a strong foundation for innovative R&D. Hengrui strives for continued innovation and collaboration with global partners to serve a healthy China and benefit patients around the world.