Representatives from the Dutch life sciences sector visit Taicang for collaboration. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

A Dutch delegation of life sciences leaders visited Taicang on May 28 to explore collaboration opportunities and deepen exchanges in the biopharmaceutical sector.

Led by the European branch of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering and NL-BioImaging, a research institute in the Netherlands aimed at promoting progress in cutting-edge microscopy technologies, the delegation learned about Taicang's pharmaceutical industrial ecosystem and supporting policies.

Qian Haibin, China representative of NL-BioImaging, visited Taicang for the first time and was left with a strong impression of the city's industrial foundation. "The concentration of contract research organizations, biopharmaceutical companies and medical device enterprises here is remarkable. The market potential is enormous," he said.

Justin Chotoe, founder and chief operating officer of Biotactical, praised the professionalism of the technologies developed in Taicang's biopharmaceutical park and said he hopes to see them applied across a broader range of biotechnology fields.

The Taicang Biomedical Industrial Park. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

Several Dutch biotech companies arrived in search of cooperation opportunities. AVIGI Therapeutics is seeking partners for clinical development and contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services. Biotactical plans to localize production of its rapid sterility testing platform, while Scabilite hopes to leverage China's clinical resources to accelerate the commercialization of its antiparasitic drug candidates. All three companies identified Taicang as a preferred destination for future collaboration.

The visit also highlighted the long-standing ties between Dutch organizations and Taicang's biopharmaceutical industry. Crown Bioscience has introduced advanced organoid technology to Taicang under authorization from the Netherlands-based Hubrecht Institute. NonoSana, a subsidiary of Dutch Alliance Nutrition Group, has operated in the city since 2007, specializing in the refining of high-purity nutritional lipids such as Omega-3 fish oil.

Beyond the life sciences sector, Dutch-invested enterprises such as Jiangsu WILA Press Brake Tooling Systems have maintained steady operations in Taicang for years, laying a solid foundation for broader economic and industrial cooperation between Taicang and the Netherlands.