Gene editing, immunotherapy and stem cells included in the 13th Five-Year National Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation
On August 8, the State Council officially issued the “13th Five-Year” National Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation (hereinafter referred to as the Plan). The Plan mentions the word “medicine” nearly 20 times, covering several hot fields including gene editing, immunotherapy and stem cells.
At the same time, the Plan points out that it is necessary to accelerate China's transformation from a major pharmaceutical country to a strong pharmaceutical country, focus on deploying innovation breakthroughs and application development of leading technologies such as frontier generic biotechnology, new biomedicine and regenerative medicine, and raise the level of original innovation in biotechnology.
The Plan mainly defines the overall thinking, development goals, main tasks and major measures for scientific and technological innovation during the “13th Five-Year” period. Its content is divided into 8 sections (27 chapters), as follows:
Chapter 2 of the Plan proposes that by 2020, China's comprehensive innovation capability ranking in the world will enter the top 15, and the country will join the ranks of innovative countries; the contribution rate of scientific and technological progress will increase from 55.3% in 2015 to 60%; the added value of knowledge-intensive service industries will account for 20% of gross domestic product; the number of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications will double compared with 2015; and the intensity of whole-society R&D investment will reach 2.5%.
It is worth noting that many chapters of the Plan are related to biomedicine, involving immunotherapy, gene therapy, cell therapy, stem cells and regenerative medicine, genomics, gene editing technology, structural biology, precision medicine, reproductive health and birth defect prevention and control, in vitro diagnostics, vaccines, antibodies, structural biology, the human microbiome and many other hot fields. The relevant specific contents of the Plan are excerpted below:
Chapter 4 Implementing major scientific and technological projects that bear on the overall and long-term interests of the country
I. Deepening the implementation of major national science and technology projects
The Plan makes clear that it will continue to tackle key core technologies such as “core high-end generic” (core electronic devices, high-end general-purpose chips, basic software), integrated circuit equipment, broadband mobile communications, CNC machine tools, oil and gas development, nuclear power, water pollution control,transgenics, new drug development, infectious disease prevention and controland other key core technologies, and focus on solving major scientific and technological problems that constrain economic and social development and bear on national security.
II. Deploying and launching new major scientific and technological projects
The Plan points out that, oriented toward 2030, another batch of major scientific and technological projects embodying national strategic intent will be selected, with efforts made to achieve breakthroughs. Proceeding from longer-term strategic needs and adhering to the principle of doing some things and not doing others, efforts will be made to take the lead in achieving breakthroughs in key directions such as aero engines and gas turbines, deep-sea space stations, quantum communication and quantum computing,brain science and brain-inspired research, national cyberspace security, deep space exploration and on-orbit service and maintenance systems for spacecraft, independent innovation in the seed industry, clean and efficient use of coal, smart grids, integrated space-ground information networks, big data, smart manufacturing and robotics, R&D and application of key new materials, coordinated environmental governance in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region,health securityand other key directions.
Chapter 5 Building a modern industrial technology system with international competitiveness
VII. Developing advanced and efficient biotechnology
Focus on deploying tasks such as frontier generic biotechnology, new biomedicine, green biomanufacturing technology, advanced biomedical materials, utilization of biological resources, biosafety assurance, and R&D of life science instruments and equipment; accelerate innovation breakthroughs and application development of leading technologies such as synthetic biotechnology, biological big data, regenerative medicine and 3D bioprinting; raise the level of original innovation in biotechnology; strive to achieve integrated breakthroughs in several fields; promote technology transformation and application to serve national economic and social development; and greatly enhance the international competitiveness of the bioeconomy.
Chapter 6 Improving the technology system that supports improvement of people's livelihoods and sustainable development
III. Developing population health technology
Focus on deploying tasks such as disease prevention and control, precision medicine, reproductive health, rehabilitation and elderly care, drug quality and safety, innovative drug development, localization of medical devices, and modernization of traditional Chinese medicine; accelerate breakthroughs in key technologies such as chronic disease screening, smart healthcare and proactive health; strengthen the popularization and promotion of disease prevention and treatment technologies and the transformation and application of new clinical technologies and products; and establish and improve a clinical medical technology standards system.
Chapter 8 Continuously strengthening basic research
I. Strengthening free exploration and the construction of the disciplinary system
Strengthen the construction of the disciplinary system. Attach importance to basic disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geoscience,life sciencesand others, and promote the sustainable development of disciplines; strengthen the construction of emerging disciplines such as information,biologyand nanotechnology, encourage interdisciplinary research, and promote interdisciplinary intersection and integration; attach importance to the core scientific problems that need to be solved for industrial upgrading and structural adjustment, and advance the development of applied disciplines such as environmental science, marine science, materials science, engineering science andclinical medicine. The total number of papers and the number of citations of papers in each discipline will further increase, and the academic influence of some disciplines will reach the world's leading level.
II. Strengthening goal-oriented basic research and frontier technology research
Focus basic research on the deployment of major national strategic tasks. Facing major national needs and the main battlefield of the national economy, and targeting major strategic tasks that bear on the national economy and people's livelihoods and the core competitiveness of industries, condense key scientific issues in fields such as modern agriculture,population health, resources, environment and ecological protection, industrial transformation and upgrading, energy conservation, environmental protection and new energy, and new urbanization, promote the close integration of basic research with economic and social development needs, and provide a source of supply for innovation-driven development.
Facing the world's scientific frontiers and future trends in science and technology development, select strategic and forward-looking major scientific issues that strongly drive the improvement of sustained innovation capacity and for which the research foundation and talent reserve are relatively good, strengthen the large-science research organization model characterized by original innovation and systematic layout, deploy key special projects in basic research, and achieve major scientific breakthroughs and seize the commanding heights of world scientific development.
Chapter 11 Building regional innovation highlands
I. Supporting Beijing and Shanghai in building science and technology innovation centers with global influence
Support Shanghai in leveraging its advantages in resources such as science and technology, capital and the market and its highly internationalized open advantages to build a science and technology innovation center with global influence. Aim at the world's scientific and technological frontiers and top levels, and lay out and build a world-class cluster of major scientific and technological infrastructure. Support the construction of several science and technology innovation platforms in advantageous industrial fields such asbiomedicineand integrated circuits, and form high-tech industrial clusters with international competitiveness.
Chapter 13 Building a “Belt and Road” collaborative innovation community
IV. Strengthening cooperative research with countries along the “Belt and Road”
Actively carry out cooperative research on major scientific issues and responses to common challenges. Strengthen substantive cooperation in major public-benefit scientific and technological fields such as agriculture, population health, water governance, desertification and salinization control, environmental pollution monitoring, seawater desalination and comprehensive utilization, marine and geological disaster monitoring, ecosystem protection, biodiversity conservation and world heritage protection, and promote joint development of biological resources and the extension of health services in fields such astraditional Chinese medicine and ethnic medicine.
Strengthen cooperative development and industrial demonstration in fields such as aerospace, equipment manufacturing, water-saving agriculture,biomedicine, energy conservation and environmental protection, new energy, information and the ocean, and enhance China's innovation capacity in key industries. Strengthen the construction of “Belt and Road” regional innovation centers, support ** in building an innovation-driven development pilot zone for the Silk Road Economic Belt, and support Fujian in building the core zone of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Attachment: Understanding the “13th Five-Year” National Plan for Scientific and Technological Innovation in one graphic (Image source: China Science and Technology Network)
Note: Due to space limitations, this article excerpts the biomedicine-related contents of the Plan. To read the full text of the Plan, click [Read Original Article].
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