SHENZHEN Institute of Synthetic Biology of Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences is creating a new model to allow the research institute and enterprises to work in the same building.

“In one building, staff members with the institute work upstairs while companies’ employees work downstairs. The purpose of the new model is to shorten the transformation period from technologies to products,” said Liu Chenli, director of Shenzhen Institute of Synthetic Biology.

It would be very difficult for biological companies to survive if they are not able to efficiently transfer their technology into products, according to Liu.

This idea allows startups to use the institute’s research equipment so that they can operate at lower costs. The institute can also provide intellectual support.

“A technology problem might be solved in an elevator of the building at this scenario,” said Liu.

Liu joined the institute in 2014. The institute has developed from a small laboratory to one with nearly 700 researchers.

Liu and his team have continued to make breakthroughs in exploring biological secrets since 2014.

In May this year, the team created a new research paradigm, using a new equation to explain the growth law of bacterial cells. The related article was published in Nature Microbiology, a monthly journal publishing the best research from across the field of microbiology.

The synthetic degrading enzymes developed by the institute are expected to address the problem of food contamination caused by mycotoxins.

With the help of large facilities, the current test speed has been increased by over three times. Moreover, the processing cost of a single sample has been reduced from 200 yuan (US$29.8) to less than 1 yuan.

Liu said that the institute will next focus on incubating related industries, especially biomedicine and biological material and to form an industry cluster as well as involve leading companies in the area. 

(Wang Jingli)