The Yangtze River Delta Biomedical Industry Alliance is unveiled in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province on May 28. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) Biomedical Industry Alliance was unveiled in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province on May 28.

Headquartered in Hangzhou Biopharma Town, the alliance consists of 55 companies specializing in biological drugs, chemical drugs and medical devices from Shanghai and eight other cities in neighboring Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.

Backed by the G60 Science and Innovation Corridor, a high-tech manufacturing zone, the Biomedicine Industry Alliance was designed to bolster the high-quality development of the biomedical industry in the YRD region, according to Ke Jixin, vice mayor of Hangzhou, adding that the alliance will further facilitate technical communication, resource sharing and talent exchange among members.

"It's surprising how fast the biomedical industry is developing in Hangzhou Biopharma Town," said Wu Jianying, president of the Shanghai-based Haohai Biological Technology Group.

He noted that the biomedical industry requires close coordination between basic scientific research, clinical research, and production, which cannot be dealt with by any single area or company.

At the same time, the alliance will also be committed to the coordination of universities, research institutes and enterprises.

Companies in the alliance will have access to the national-level scientific research and experimental platform of Shanghai's Zhangjiang National Innovation Demonstration Zone and Suzhou Industrial Park without having to spend heavily on building other laboratories, which will save in research and development costs, said Tao Feng, an official from Hangzhou Biopharma Town.

To date, the town is home to over 800 world-renowned healthcare conglomerates including Johnson & Johnson, Merck &Co Inc, and Pfizer Inc, with the total output value exceeding 30 billion yuan ($4.34 billion).