Qiming Venture Partners Headlines | S2S China Symposium Announces 2026 Finalists, 10 Top Teams to Pitch Global Investors Live at Westlake University
The project aims to connect leading therapy researchers from top academic and research institutions with leading biotech investors, pharmaceutical companies, and industry executives.
The inaugural S2S (Science2Startup) China Symposium — a premier biotech entrepreneurship competition co-hosted by global top-tier VC firm RA Capital Management and Qiming Venture Partners — has officially announced its 2026 finalist teams. Ten outstanding biotech startups emerged from a massive applicant pool and will participate in an exclusive mentorship program to refine their projects before pitching to leading global investors at a live event on October 15 at Westlake University.
S2S is an invitation-only symposium founded in 2018 by F-Prime, SV Health, and Atlas Venture; RA Capital Management, Osage University Partners, and 5AM Ventures later joined the initiative. The program connects top academic and research institution-based therapeutics researchers with leading biotech investors, pharmaceutical companies, and industry executives. It provides selected teams with mentorship and a platform to showcase novel, proprietary scientific work — helping promising teams advance toward company formation and clinical development.
This year's S2S China Symposium drew enthusiastic applications from researchers and early-stage founders across China's therapeutics research ecosystem. Following multiple rounds of rigorous review and screening by an advisory team of seasoned biotech investors, the competition narrowed a vast field of submissions to approximately 20 semifinalist teams, ultimately selecting 10 to advance to the finals and present at the October 15 live pitch event.
To help finalist teams precisely connect with capital markets and strengthen their project frameworks, the finalists will participate in an exclusive pre-event mentorship program. In the coming weeks, teams will work with the S2S China Symposium advisory team — composed of veteran biotech investors and industry operations experts — to optimize their scientific research plans, refine their commercial narratives, polish their pitch materials, and comprehensively elevate project maturity, laying a solid foundation for live presentations and funding connections.
This year's S2S China Symposium has garnered support from prominent figures in academia and the global life sciences investment community, including Westlake University President Yigong Shi, Qiming Venture Partners Partner and Co-Head of Healthcare Innovation Kan Chen, and RA Capital Management Partner Josh Resnick. The deep engagement of these industry veterans underscores the S2S China Symposium's value as a bridge connecting China's academic research ecosystem with the global biotech venture capital world, while carrying forward the operating model established by the original Science2Startup symposium.
The successful execution of this year's S2S China Symposium owes much to the full support of leading companies across industries, with the competition bringing together multiple globally renowned institutions and biotech leaders to form a powerful ecosystem of support. Goodwin, Eli Lilly and Company, and Biocytogen provided substantial support for this year's event, with Johnson & Johnson and Sanofi also lending significant backing.
Platinum Sponsors
Goodwin is a global law firm at the intersection of capital and innovation, providing legal services to innovators and investors in healthcare, investment funds and capital, life sciences, private equity, real estate, and technology. With more than 2,800 professionals worldwide, Goodwin combines industry knowledge, excellent legal services, and business advisory expertise to help clients navigate complex challenges and seize opportunities in a rapidly changing, technology-driven economy. Goodwin provides clients with services across the full corporate lifecycle, including company formation, financing, capital markets transactions, licensing and collaboration, M&A, regulatory affairs, and exit strategies. Learn more: https://www.goodwinlaw.com/en
Eli Lilly and Company is a global leading pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, dedicated to discovering and delivering medicines that make life better for people around the world. With an unwavering commitment to scientific innovation, Lilly has been an active partner in the region's biotech ecosystem, supporting efforts from early discovery through late-stage development across multiple therapeutic areas.
Biocytogen (688796.SH, 02315.HK) is a global biotechnology company dedicated to discovering and developing next-generation antibody therapeutics across multiple technology platforms. The company has built an extensive portfolio of novel drug candidates spanning monoclonal and bispecific antibodies, ADCs, VHH-based therapeutics, and other antibody-based modalities, with multiple programs advancing into clinical development through internal progression and global licensing partnerships. Leveraging its proprietary RenMice® platform and large-scale antibody discovery engine, Biocytogen has generated over 1 million fully human antibody sequences against more than 1,000 therapeutic targets and established partnerships with over 455 biopharmaceutical companies worldwide. Their collaboration reflects a shared commitment to advancing early-stage therapeutics innovation originating from Chinese academia onto the global stage.
Gold Sponsor
Johnson & Johnson is a global healthcare leader headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, dedicated to addressing the toughest health challenges and transforming lives through the research, development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical technologies. The company's Innovative Medicine business advances breakthrough science and develops transformative therapies in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. In MedTech, the company focuses on developing and delivering cardiovascular, surgical, and vision solutions.
Silver Sponsor
Sanofi is a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Paris, France, dedicated to pursuing scientific breakthroughs that improve people's lives. The company focuses on immunology, oncology, neurology, rare diseases, ophthalmology, and vaccines, and maintains significant R&D and commercial presence in China. Sanofi has long invested in collaborations with local academic and biotech innovators in China to expand its global pipeline.
For more information, visit: s2schina.com/s2s/cn.
Past Coverage
Qiming Weekly | Qiming Venture Partners Portfolio News — Ten Headlines Vol. 25, Aug. 11, 2026
Qiming Venture Partners was founded in 2006. The firm currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management reaching $9.5 billion. Since its inception, Qiming Venture Partners has focused on investing in outstanding early- and growth-stage companies in Technology and Healthcare.
To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative companies, of which more than 210 have listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited through M&A and other means. More than 80 portfolio companies have become recognized unicorns or super-unicorns.
Many Qiming Venture Partners portfolio companies have grown into the most influential players in their respective fields, including Xiaomi (01810.HK), Meituan (03690.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI, 09626.HK), Zhihu (NYSE:ZH, 02390.HK), Roborock (688169.SH), Hesai Technology (NASDAQ:HSAI, 02525.HK), UBTECH (09880.HK), WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD, 00800.HK), HyperStrong (688411.SH), Insta360 (688775.SH), Unisound (09678.HK), Biren Technology (06082.HK), Zhipu AI (02513.HK), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (603087.SH), Tigermed (300347.SZ, 03347.HK), Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB, 09688.HK), CanSino Biologics (688185.SH, 06185.HK), Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR), APT Medical (688617.SH), Sanyou Medical (688085.SH), AmoyDx (300685.SZ), Sinocelltech (688520.SH), Insilico Medicine (03696.HK), AusperBio, Yuanxin Technology, MediLink Therapeutics, Leads Biolabs, and StepFun.