Putuo aims for 100-billion-yuan health industry cluster

Putuo District has announced plans to build a life and health industry cluster with an annual output value target of 100 billion yuan (US$14.16 billion) during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

As a key initiative, the district is launching a Digital Health Industry Partner Program designed to provide comprehensive support to enterprises across multiple dimensions, including shared facilities, resource pooling, and policy incentives.

"The 'Partner Program' is like gathering a group of partners to accompany entrepreneurs on their journey: the government acts as the 'matchmaker,' bringing industry players who understand the market, universities, hospitals, funds, banks, and tech parks into the same 'circle of friends,'" said an official from the Putuo District Commerce Commission.

For instance, hospitals can present clinical challenges to universities and tech parks for joint R&D of new technologies; funds can invest early in promising projects; and industry partners can directly facilitate the commercialization of results. Each segment interlocks like gears, enabling enterprises to not only access resources but also avoid unnecessary detours.

On the government service front, Putuo will establish a "Digital Health Task Force" to provide precise, efficient, and coordinated "one-on-one" guidance. A dedicated Medical Device Service Station will also be set up to offer full-process assistance, from consultation and application to review, for enterprises seeking medical device certification.

In terms of innovation sourcing, the district will deepen its focus on concept validation and project incubation, collaborating with the Tongji University Science Park to transform cutting-edge scientific achievements into commercial successes. For industry synergy, Putuo will actively construct a fully integrated "industry-university-research-medicine" chain, bridging upstream and downstream sectors to foster deep cooperation and resource sharing among partners.

Regarding application scenarios, the district will coordinate with key local medical institutions to open up rich clinical resources and application environments, providing a "testing ground" and "debut stage" for new technologies and products. This will accelerate the transition of innovative outcomes from the laboratory to the clinic.

According to data from the District Commerce Commission, since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), the number of life and health enterprises in the district has exceeded 3,500. A comprehensive industry chain has generally taken shape, with preliminary estimates indicating an industry scale surpassing 60 billion yuan.