Through wind and rain, spring and autumn, in the blink of an eye, Qi-Biodesign has reached an important milestone of its second anniversary since its establishment. Looking back on the past year, Qi-Biodesign has remained true to its original aspiration, laying a solid foundation, accumulating strength, and persevering with an entrepreneurial spirit to explore and make progress.
Clarify strategic positioning and define development direction
This year, we have redefined the mission and vision of Qi-Biodesign, clarified our strategic positioning, and clarified our development strategy.
Corporate Mission: Gene editing creates limitless possibilities for the future.
Just as Nobel laureate in Chemistry, Professor Jennifer A. Doudna, and her team stated in a review article in the journal Science: “Through relentless exploration of the natural world, we will discover new things beyond imagination and harness them for the benefit of the real world and the Earth.” Gene editing technology holds vast potential for future applications, and we firmly believe that Qi-Biodesign can pursue and create infinite possibilities in the field of gene editing, benefiting the world.
Corporate Vision:
A globally leading biotechnology company.
Developing new precision gene editing technologies.
Providing innovative and excellent biological traits.
In the coming period, we will focus on two things:
Researching and developing autonomous and controllable new gene editing technologies at the forefront of global biotechnology；
Developing innovative and excellent new biological traits at the forefront of the biotechnology industry.
Continuous capital infusion provides impetus for development
This year, we would like to express our gratitude to our existing shareholder, APRICOT CAPITAL, for their continued trust and support. We are fortunate to have partnered with CD CAPITAL, SOURCE COOE CAPITAL, GAORONG CAPITAL, CSSD, SHANG CAPITAL, and CASSTAR, completing a Pre-A round financing of over 100 million yuan, providing strong momentum for the rapid development of the company. In July 2023, we held an employee integration and communication event as well as an investor appreciation meeting. As one investor stated, “We are optimistic about the tremendous potential of gene editing technology and its broad prospects for commercial applications in the biotechnology industry. We look forward to Qi-Biodesign developing more promising gene editing products and quickly bringing them to market. We believe that Qi-Biodesign will bring about a new wave of transformation in China’s biotechnology industry.”
Strengthening the construction of research platforms and establishing a product development chain
This year, we have built the SEEDIT™ biotechnology and trait engineering platform, which is highly efficient, high-throughput, and sustainable. The Beijing R&D center has been continuously developing a world-class molecular biology laboratory, while the Tianjin R&D center has officially put into operation the Qi-He Plant Factory and field breeding test stations. We have also established several field breeding test sites in key ecological areas in China. These efforts have formed a complete product development chain of “molecular design – precise delivery – phenotype identification – product development.” With a series of significant strategic deployments, we have laid a solid foundation for the rapid development of the company.
Focusing on Original Innovation, Continuous Technological Iteration
In this year, we have continued to firmly focus on original innovation in the underlying technology of gene editing and have made significant breakthroughs in the development of new autonomous gene editing tools, establishing a moat for China in the field of gene editing technology. Regarding the first-generation gene editing technology, we have used our independently developed mining computational methods to screen multiple novel nucleases systems and have applied for independent intellectual property protection. These new proteins are smaller in size compared to the Cas proteins currently used in the market, making them more convenient for delivery into animal or plant cells, with significant application implications. Regarding the second-generation gene editing technology, we have combined big data mining and artificial intelligence analysis to screen a series of novel base editors with new structural features, achieving more efficient, precise, and safe gene editing in animals and plants. The related achievements were published in an article in Cell in June 2023. It is worth mentioning that we have successfully developed a new base editing system, CyDENT, that does not rely on CRISPR, achieving full autonomous innovation from core components to underlying working models. The related achievements were published in Nature Biotechnology in August 2023. Regarding the third-generation gene editing technology, we have designed and developed the world’s first efficient and precise plant large DNA fragment insertion technology, PrimeRooT™. This technology allows targeted insertion of multiple target genes in multiple plant species, achieving stacking of new traits while ensuring that the exogenous genes do not disrupt plant growth. The related achievements were published in Nature Biotechnology in April 2023. In this year, based on the company’s advantages in autonomous intellectual property tools and advanced delivery technologies, we have focused on high-yield, insect-resistant, and disease-resistant traits, primarily in the field of staple crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and rice, to carry out trait improvement in agricultural breeding and have initiated the construction of a multi-level system for developing traits in agricultural breeding.
We gather talents from all corners of the world to build a formidable entrepreneurial force
This year, leveraging the advantages of our platform technology, flexible management mechanisms, and rapid company growth, we have attracted a group of outstanding talents to join us. We have brought in Ms. Bei Zhang and Mr.Haiquan Yang as co-founders, attracting a batch of industry elites to join Qi-Biodesign and building a world-class leadership team. Currently, the company has surpassed 70 employees, with an average age of 32. R&D personnel account for over 80% of the team, which is vibrant and passionate. They work diligently and relentlessly in their respective positions, building a solid foundation for Qi-Biodesign’s independent innovation.
We emphasize meticulous management to build the Qi-He brand
This year, we have adhered to the approach of “standardized management, standardized processes, and process informatization.” We have independently designed and built a dedicated information management system for Qi-Biodesign, enhancing business collaboration, focusing on efficiency improvement, guiding all employees to pay more attention to the long-term development of the company, and enhancing the company’s intrinsic vitality. In terms of brand building, we have established the “Qi-Biodesign Academy” internally and launched a “Science Popularization Column” externally. We have completed the design and release of the corporate IP image, and have actively participated in a series of important academic summits, forums, and exhibitions both domestically and internationally, establishing the Qi-Biodesign brand and shaping the corporate image.Over the past year, Qi-Biodesign has been selected as one of the potential unicorn companies in China for 2022 by Great Wall Strategic Consulting. We have also been included in the “SynBio 40” list of emerging synthetic biology companies by EB Insights. We have received honors and qualifications such as innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises. Dr. Kevin, our Chief Technology Officer, has successfully made it to the MIT Technology Review’s TR35 Asia-Pacific list and Forbes China’s “30 Under 30” for 2022.
New starting point, new journey. Looking towards the future, we are facing new situations in technological innovation, new challenges in the changing market environment, and new requirements for high-quality development of the company. All Qi-Biodesign employees will demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit of daring to explore and take the lead, as well as an unwavering and pioneering attitude, to create infinite possibilities for the development of the biotechnology industry in China!