Interview with Jiang Ruifu, CEO of Ushibi Global: Implementi

Currently, China is steadfastly advancing its policy of opening up to the outside world, especially in the field of healthcare. By deepening institutional reforms, expanding openness, and actively building an innovative ecosystem, China has provided vast development space for multinational enterprises. ​

On March 13, 2025, Jean Christophe Tellier, Global CEO of UCB, concluded his three-day visit to China. In an interview with Global Health, he shared his profound insights into the Chinese market and policy environment, as well as UCB's unique innovative development path. ​

Jiang Ruifu stated that China's institutional opening-up and innovation driven strategy in the field of healthcare not only demonstrates its determination to deepen reforms, but also brings new opportunities to the global pharmaceutical industry. During his visit to China this time, he deeply felt China's active efforts in promoting early access to innovative drugs and optimizing the government enterprise dialogue mechanism. These measures have laid a solid foundation for the long-term development of multinational enterprises in the Chinese market. ​

In recent years, the global healthcare industry is entering an era of innovation full of opportunities and prospects. As a global biopharmaceutical company established nearly a century ago, Ushibi stands out in the fields of immune system and nervous system, and will become the second most innovative pharmaceutical company in the world in 2023. Jiang Ruifu stated that maintaining industry-leading R&D investment is the key to building Youshi Bi's core competitiveness. ​

Data shows that in 2024, Ushi's annual sales reached 6.15 billion euros, and it is expected to increase to 6.5 billion euros by 2025. And every year, Ushibi invests around 30% of its annual sales in research and development, far higher than the R&D investment level in the same industry. In Jiang Ruifu's view, innovation is the continuous driving force for the development of enterprises. We will continue to maintain a high level of research and development investment to ensure that the company can continue to launch new drugs and unique treatment plans that meet the needs of patients

Putting patients first: reconstructing the value logic of pharmaceutical innovation

Despite the many challenges posed by uncontrollable factors such as geopolitics and policies on a global scale, medical needs have always been at the core of a company's strategic layout. Ushibi's "Patient Value Strategy" is based on this concept, committed to providing solutions for patients worldwide and building differentiated competitive advantages. ​

The unmet medical needs of patients worldwide are still enormous, "Jiang Ruifu emphasized." We always put patients first and solve their needs through scientific innovation. The core of this strategy lies in closely integrating patients with science, and is reflected in the value proposition of "patient-centered, science as evidence" proposed by Ushibi. ​

The initial scientific insights come from patients, "Jiang Ruifu explained." To view patients as complete living beings and gain a deeper understanding of their needs in disease treatment, improving quality of life, and other aspects, rather than just focusing on controlling the condition, treating the head and foot, is the only way to scientifically address their unmet needs. ​

However, how can scientific ideas based on patient needs be translated into practical treatment plans? Jiang Ruifu pointed out that this requires the construction of a complete value transformation chain, which is precisely the core advantage of Youshi Bi. ​

The heavyweight product independently developed by Ushibi - Bicilizumab (trade name: Beijiele) ®） For example, Jiang Ruifu explained in detail that this product was born from clinical observations of joint synovium in patients with psoriatic arthritis. In communication with patients, the research team found a significant increase in the expression level of interleukin-17A/F (IL-17A/F) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. However, previous treatment plans mainly targeted IL-17A, and many doctors did not fully recognize the importance of IL-17F. Based on this discovery, Ushibi has successfully developed an antibody that can simultaneously act on IL-17A/F through medical engineering methods, and has conducted three head to head phase III clinical studies (BE SURE, BE RADANT, BE VIVID) worldwide, all of which have reached the predetermined major endpoints ​

Starting from patient insights, to breakthroughs in antibody engineering, and ultimately reshaping treatment standards - this path is the best practice of "patient-centered" drug innovation by Ushibi. ​

It is worth mentioning that the key to the uniqueness of Ushibi's "patient value strategy" lies in its attention to details. For example, after a clinical trial is completed and the results are published in a scientific journal, the work does not stop - providing a dedicated report to the subjects has become an important part of the research process. This matter itself is not complicated, but not every company can persist in doing it like we do. Behind this is an attitude, and more importantly, a respect for patients, "Jiang Ruifu said. ​

Transformation and upgrading: opening up a multidimensional path for pharmaceutical innovation

In the field of pharmaceutical innovation, breakthroughs are not limited to product development itself, but are also reflected in multidimensional collaborative promotion such as business model innovation, deep integration of industry, academia, and research, and digital transformation. These elements are collectively building the core driving force for industry upgrading. ​

Ushibi's innovative transformation strategy in the Chinese market is quite representative. On November 30, 2024, Ushibi announced the divestment of its mature product business in China (involving the nervous system and anti allergy fields), further focusing on deepening innovation and expanding cooperation. At the same time, Ushibi is deepening its cooperation with local industry, academia and research institutions. On November 7, 2023, Ushibi signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Tianjin Economic and Technological Development Zone to carry out research and development cooperation, strengthen industry university research connections and communication, and jointly explore innovative cooperation in the biopharmaceutical industry. In addition, Ushibi actively explores new paths to accelerate pharmaceutical innovation and regards AI technology as a key "experimental field" to promote innovation breakthroughs. On January 9, 2025, Ushibi announced a partnership with Jinglai Technology Ailux Biologics, with a focus on using the XtalFold independently developed by Ailux Biologics ™  AI  The platform facilitates the discovery and engineering design of macromolecular drugs to accelerate the innovation process of biologics at various stages of research and development. ​

This series of strategic deployments stems from the deep insight of the decision-making level of Uber into China's innovation ecosystem: the government continues to release signals of value recognition for innovative drugs, and the demand for international cutting-edge therapies from patients is becoming increasingly urgent. Through strategic business focus, enterprises are able to concentrate resources on innovative drug research and development, accelerating the translation of the latest global scientific research achievements into clinical benefits for Chinese patients. ​

Jiang Ruifu highly values the potential of AI technology as an accelerator for new drug development. In his opinion, currently, AI  The main role of platforms in new drug development is reflected in accelerating drug discovery, such as in biological discovery, rapid identification of targets, and evaluation of drug properties. AI can significantly improve efficiency, far exceeding traditional manual methods. The application of AI technology is no longer limited to the early stages of research and development, but it can also provide full chain support for pharmaceutical innovation. For example, in the clinical stage, AI can help screen and recruit suitable patients more accurately, thereby accelerating the progress of clinical trials. ​

The traditional drug development cycle usually takes 10 to 15 years, but with the full chain support of AI, we are expected to significantly shorten this cycle. Jiang Ruifu is full of expectations for AI to help pharmaceutical innovation. ​

The company's strategic focus has always been built on innovation, "said Jiang Ruifu." Ushibi's innovation pipeline has entered a period of concentrated explosion, and in the Chinese market, Beijie Le ®  Approved, there will be 3 more products waiting for approval in the near future (including Rozalizumab and Zelepitide injection for the treatment of myasthenia gravis, as well as Romozolozumab for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at high risk of fractures), and there are also many products in the pipeline being promoted. To ensure the successful implementation of these strategic product portfolios, it is necessary to transform towards innovation and restructure capabilities around forward-looking technologies. This transformation is of crucial significance for driving future growth, "Jiang Ruifu emphasized. ​

Accelerating the launch of new drugs: achieving zero time difference in the admission of innovative drugs

On the track of innovative drug research and development and admission, Ushibi is advancing in a two wheel drive mode: accelerating innovation on one hand, and speeding up the process of "launching new drugs" on the other. ​

Since 2015, the reform of China's drug review and approval system has greatly shortened the drug approval time, and the time for innovative drugs to be launched has also been significantly reduced. Both local pharmaceutical companies and foreign-funded enterprises have ushered in new opportunities for development under this policy, accelerating the process of new drug launches. ​

In this context, Ushibi has established a core mechanism for China's deep participation in global innovation in 2021: all five core pipeline products are included in global multi center clinical trials, and it is assumed that the Chinese and Japanese markets are synchronously connected, with only exceptional evaluations initiated in special circumstances. This strategy breaks through the traditional clinical development model and enables Chinese patients to achieve near zero time difference access to innovative drugs in the international market for the first time. With the self exemption field product Beijiele ®  For example, the listing time in China is only one year later than that in the United States, which is a qualitative leap compared to the past. ​

We are also accelerating the development of two drugs and other pipeline products in the field of rare diseases, striving to narrow the time gap with the global market and benefit Chinese patients as soon as possible, "Jiang Ruifu revealed. ​

This strategic layout of incorporating China into the global innovation core circle means that Ushibi's role in the Chinese innovation ecosystem has shifted from being a "solution exporter" to a "value co creator". ​

From the increase in the speed of introducing innovative products to the inclusion of China in global synchronous clinical trials, it shows that China is a crucial strategic market for us. This is also our commitment to innovate and 'benefit Chinese patients synchronously' through practical actions, "Jiang Ruifu emphasized.