Shanghai, September 8, 2025 — Bayer Co.Lab, a global life sciences incubator network, proudly marks its first anniversary in China with significant advancements, including the launch of Bayer Co.Lab AdVenture — its inaugural global platform connecting with venture capital partners — and the induction of two new Chinese biotech startups into the Bayer Co.Lab community. These milestones signify a pivotal moment in Bayer’s open innovation strategy in China and reinforce its commitment to deeply rooting in the country, while fostering global connections.
“The accomplishments of Bayer Co.Lab Shanghai over the past year exemplify the continued growth of our community and demonstrate the global potential of biotech innovation in this country,” said Juergen Eckhardt, M.D., Head of Business Development and Licensing (BD&L) at Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division. “We are witnessing China’s emergence as a leading source of biopharma breakthroughs with meaningful global impacts. Moving forward, Bayer will continue to deepen collaborations with local innovators and partners, driving transformative innovations to address global health challenges and improve outcomes for patients locally and worldwide.”
Expanding Bayer Co.Lab’s network and partnerships in China
With the Healthy China 2030 strategy gaining momentum, the country’s biopharmaceutical industry is shifting from a follower to a leader in innovation. Currently, China accounts for about 30 percent of the global total of innovative drugs in research and development1, with advanced modalities such as antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific antibodies, and cell and gene therapies (CGT) receiving increasing international recognition.
Bayer Co.Lab AdVenture, first launched in China, connects residents of high-potential biotech startups with leading venture capital firms, accelerating access to global financing and investment networks. The platform bridges Bayer Co.Lab’s global network with local innovation ecosystems, enabling startups to engage efficiently with capital and resources, injecting new momentum into their growth trajectories.
The inaugural partners of Bayer Co.Lab AdVenture include Shanghai Industrial Investment Capital (SIIC), Legend Capital, IDG Capital, and Bayland Capital. Drawing on their deep investment expertise and strong local networks, these firms will support Bayer Co.Lab resident startups with strategic advice and curated investment opportunities.
At the anniversary event, Bayer Co.Lab welcomed Nutshell Therapeutics and OTR Therapeutics as new starts-up residents, expanding its China resident base to seven and, together with Epigenic, Immunocan, AccurEdit, lncTAC, and 20n Bio, strengthening an innovation cluster across small molecules, nucleic acids, cyclic peptides, antibody platforms, gene editing, and AI-enabled discovery.
In recognition of its tailored incubation model and commitment to open collaboration, Bayer Co.Lab was designated this May as a Group Open Innovation (GOI) center by Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, cementing its role as a core partner in building the city into a world-class biopharmaceutical innovation hub.
“Bayer Co.Lab has cultivated a thriving innovation ecosystem in China, advancing biotech breakthroughs across cutting-edge fields,” said Friedemann Janus, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Head of Bayer Co.Lab, Regional BD&L and Divestitures, Bayer Pharmaceuticals. “With the launch of AdVenture, we are connecting our global expertise, network, and resources to deliver end-to-end strategic support that accelerates the growth of emerging biotech startups. This milestone underscores our commitment to fostering collaboration at scale, transforming China’s biotech potential into global solutions.”
Bayer’s Consistent Commitment to Open Innovation in China
As one of the first multinational pharmaceutical companies to enter China, Bayer has consistently viewed the country as a strategic pillar for innovation and a vital growth engine. For years, Bayer has championed open innovation in China, collaborating with local partners to fostering innovation and drug R&D in China, delivering greater patient outcome and global impacts.
The company has established a “dual engine” in China, with the Bayer E-town Open Innovation Center and Bayer Co.Lab working synergistically to drive end-to-end innovation. Through these collaboration platforms, Bayer offers customized support and resources to accelerate the translation of breakthrough innovations into meaningful solutions to patient benefits.
Bayer has also forged robust academic-industry partnerships, establishing long-term collaborations with prestigious universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, resulting in over 100 joint research projects to date that facilitate the translation of cutting-edge science into new drug development.
In March 2025, Bayer and Puhe BioPharma announced a global licensing agreement for an oral PRMT5 inhibitor targeting MTAP-deleted tumors. Bayer obtained worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the MTA-cooperative PRMT5 inhibitor, with the first patient already enrolled in a Phase I first-in-human dose-escalation clinical trial. On August 25, the program was approved for clinical trial in China, marking an important step forward in delivering innovative therapies to patients.
“Collaboration is essential to driving pharmaceutical innovation,” said Juergen Eckhardt. “China has become an integral partner in our innovation journey. Through robust partnerships and sustained collaboration, Bayer is dedicated to propelling innovations in China to the global stage and advancing the sustainable development of the pharmaceutical industry.”
About Nutshell Therapeutics
Nutshell Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company specialized in the discovery and development of small-molecule allosteric drugs to tackle historically undruggable targets. We have established a proprietary AI + physics based computational platform named ALLOSTARTM that can identify the potential allosteric pockets on novel proteins, evaluate allosteric effects, and denovo-generate or optimize allosteric ligands. To address the unmet medical needs and fully leverage the advantages of small-molecule allosteric drugs as well as our technical expertise, we have built strong pipelines with potential BIC/FIC allosteric activator or inhibitor molecules in the therapeutic focus of oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
About OTR Therapeutics
OTR Therapeutics is dedicated to transforming early-stage innovations into globally impactful therapies for critical diseases with high unmet medical needs. We discover and acquire distinctive assets in preclinical and early clinical stages, and accelerate their development into differentiated, globally impactful treatments through our R&D hub built for speed, quality and efficiency. By combining scientific rigor with agile partnerships, we deliver exceptional value to our partners and patients worldwide.
About Bayer
Bayer is a global company with core competencies in health and agriculture in the life sciences sector. The company is committed to helping people and the planet thrive through products and services that help people overcome the major challenges posed by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainability and making a positive impact on its business. At the same time, the Group is also improving profitability and creating value through technological innovation and business growth. Globally, the Bayer brand stands for trustworthiness, reliability and quality. In fiscal 2024, Bayer had approximately 93,000 employees and sales of 46.6 billion euros. R&D investment, excluding special projects, amounted to EUR 6.2 billion. See www.bayer.com for more information.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.
Reference
1 Citeline, Pharma R&D Annual Review 2025.
