Time：2026-07-16
From July 10-11,2026, "MEDTIDE Closed-Door Forum 2026: Breakthrough and Foresight forPeptide Industry Leaders" was successfully held in Hangzhou. Hosted byMEDTIDE Inc., the forum operated on a strictly invitation-only basis, bringingtogether an exclusive gathering of founders and senior decision-makers fromChina's leading peptide innovator companies.
This closed-doormeeting was not only a precise response to a critical strategic juncture forthe peptide industry, but also an "internal alignment" for China'speptide sector ahead of its global expansion. Facing the deep-water challengesof technological iteration and the complexities of global commercialcompetition, the forum's core value lay in providing high-level strategicguidance and forward-looking support for the industry's future evolution. Onone hand, the forum offered a top-down perspective that examined the underlyinglogic of AI-enabled peptide drug development, clarifying more actionabledirections for early discovery and technical breakthroughs. On the other,drawing on the practical experience of leading companies, it comprehensivelymapped the capability model required for peptide assets to expand overseas,providing highly valuable decision-making coordinates for Chinesepharmaceutical companies building globally competitive systems. In addition,the joint release of an industry white paper with an authoritative institutionfurther strengthened the data foundation for long-term industry planning.
Leadinginnovators in attendance included Innovent Biologics (信达生物), SciwindBiosciences (先为达生物),PegBio (派格生物),Coherent Biopharma (同宜医药), Protelight Pharmaceutical（普莱医药）, Zonsen PepLibBiotech（中晟全肽）,Syneron Bio（元思生肽）, XtalPi （晶泰科技）, TandemAI （腾迈医药）, Perpetual Medicines（动肽医药）, Viva Biotech（维亚生物）, and HandingPharmaceutical（汉鼎医药）, among others. The pipelines represented by attendees spanned core therapeuticareas including metabolic disease, oncology, and anti-infectives, and coveredthe full industry chain from AI-driven early-stage discovery through clinicaldevelopment to global commercialization.
Into the Deep Water: The Real Boundaries and FundamentalRestructuring of AI Enablement
AI's role in drugdiscovery has formally moved beyond proof-of-concept toward fundamentalrestructuring, with the world's first AI-designed drug candidate now in PhaseIII clinical trials. On the theme of "How AI is Reshaping the Efficiencyand Boundaries of Peptide Drug Discovery," the forum's first morningsession featured an intensive closed-door exchange.
Dr. Zhang Genwei,Head of Peptide Business at XtalPi, used the company's PepiX™ end-to-endpeptide R&D platform as a starting point, showcasing cutting-edge practicesthat combine AI design with high-throughput wet-lab libraries to compresspreclinical candidate (PCC) incubation timelines to under 18 months. Theclosed-door discussion that followed went straight to the heart of the matter,moving past the technology hype to confront real industry pain points.Attending decision-makers reached strong consensus: general-purpose largelanguage models alone are unlikely to constitute an absolute competitive moat;the true source of differentiation lies in building a high-quality proprietarydata flywheel and achieving deep integration between dry and wet experiments.Several founders noted that vertical models purpose-built for peptides can onlybreak through on core challenges such as druggability and delivery whencombined with a deep understanding of underlying biological mechanisms. Aroundthis theme, attendees also exchanged candid views on approaches to datastrategy, organizational models and talent structures for AI teams, and thetechnical boundaries of delivery challenges such as oralbioavailability—reflecting a diversity of technical viewpoints across theindustry.
The Real Question on Going Global: GlobalCommercial Competition Beyond BD Deals
Over the pastyear, the peptide innovator drug industry has entered a critical period ofvalue restructuring: core products led by GLP-1 have secured a wave ofapprovals, cross-border business development deals have repeatedly hit newhighs, and domestic R&D is accelerating its expansion into global markets.
In the afternoonsession, focused on "Late-Stage Decision-Making for Peptide Assets andBreaking Into Global Commercialization," Xiong Huizhong, Vice President ofInnovent Biologics' Early Research and Integrated Pipeline, offered an in-depthreview of the complete decision-making path for the dual-target innovator drugmazdutide—from clinical development through the build-out of diversifiedcommercialization channels—providing the industry with a highly valuablereal-world case study. Building on this, attending entrepreneurs engaged indeep strategic discussion. The conversation made clear that, in charting theadvancement path from biotech to biopharma and ultimately to pharma, Chinesepharmaceutical companies seeking global competitiveness cannot focus solely onthe short-term value realized through BD deals. In the closed-door discussion,attendees exchanged in-depth experience on core challenges including preciseassessment of clinical value, differentiated positioning in specialtyindications, building global compliance systems, and balancing insurance accesswith commercial profitability—demonstrating the increasingly mature andsubstantive voice that Chinese peptide companies now command in global multi-centercompetition.
Exclusive Think-Tank Release: Building aForward-Looking Industry Barrier
As one of thehigh-value outcomes of this closed-door forum, MEDTIDE, together with Frost& Sullivan, officially released the "2026 Global Peptide andOligonucleotide Industry White Paper." Fred Mao, Senior Partner andManaging Director of Frost & Sullivan China, delivered an in-depth on-siteinterpretation of global market capacity, the emerging pipeline landscape, andthe competitive dynamics among CDMOs. As an exclusive benefit of theclosed-door format, the report will be available only to forum attendees for asix-month exclusive preview period before its public release, providing corepartners with highly forward-looking support for decision-making.
MEDTIDE: An Enabler of Peptide IndustryTransformation Through Strategic Focus
As the initiatorand organizer of this top-level dialogue, MEDTIDE once again made clear itsstrategic positioning to the industry. In his opening remarks, Shawn Lee,Co-Founder of MEDTIDE and Chairman of Chinese Peptide Company, reaffirmed:"MEDTIDE does not make drugs itself, but is deeply involved in everycritical step of innovator drug development, serving as a key bridge forindustry transformation."
Backed by morethan 1,000 clients accumulated globally, over 300 CDMO projects currently inexecution, a forward-looking dual-base presence in China and the United States,and the capital momentum gained from its successful listing on the Main Boardof the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2025, MEDTIDE continues to strengthen itsstrategic position as a key bridge for industry transformation.
Since it wasfirst launched in 2010 by Chinese Peptide Company, MEDTIDE's wholly ownedsubsidiary, the CPC Global Peptide Drug R&D Conference has been held foreight consecutive editions, becoming the longest-running and mostprofessionally focused annual conference in China's peptide sector. In 2026,the series was relaunched independently under the new MEDTIDE brand as the"MEDTIDE Closed-Door Forum." Going forward, the forum will continueas a long-term annual mechanism, dedicated to building a private think tankexclusively for industry founders and core decision-makers—one that willcontinue to drive consensus on key issues facing China's peptide industry,calibrate strategic direction, and provide a lasting platform for dialogue ontop-level strategy and global expansion.
