On March 20, 2025, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease officially opened in Shenzhen, accompanied by the inaugural meeting of its Academic Committee. The ceremony gathered senior government officials, leading scientists, and industry partners, including Huang Xiangyue, Party Secretary of Nanshan District; Wu Hongyan, Director of Shenzhen Municipal Health Commission; Chen Yihan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and President of Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University; Hu Shengshou, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, President of Fuwai Hospital, and Director of State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease; as well as Fu Gang, Chairman of Baheal Pharma Group.

Ceremony Venue

As a major national platform dedicated to overcoming critical diseases, elevating China’s prevention and treatment capabilities of cardiovascular diseases, and advancing the Healthy China strategy,  “State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease” (hereafter “the Laboratory”) has been restructured from the former State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease. The reorganization was jointly undertaken by Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Fuwai Hospital Shenzhen (Shenzhen Sun Yat-sen Cardiovascular Hospital), and Baheal Pharma Group. Leveraging the strengths of all three partners, the renewed State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease will establish a full-chain innovation ecosystem—from basic research and technology development to clinical translation and industrial implementation. It aims to tackle key bottlenecks in cardiovascular disease and accelerate the transformation of cutting-edge products and services to benefit patients nationwide.

During the launching ceremony, Director Wu delivered opening remarks, followed by a keynote address from Academician Hu, who outlined the Laboratory’s mission and scientific direction. Professor Wang Zhihua of Fuwai Shenzhen and Baheal Chairman Fu Gang also presented updates on research development and collaborative progress of both Fuwai Hospital Shenzhen and Baheal Pharma Group.

In his keynote, Academician Hu emphasized that China currently has 330 million cardiovascular patients. With an aging population and the rising prevalence of risk factors, morbidity and mortality continue to climb, placing profound burdens on patients and families. State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease will focus on core scientific priorities—including disease mechanisms, innovative medical devices development, and technologies that empower basic disease prevention and control. Guided by clinical needs and interdisciplinary collaboration, it will advance frontier basic research. Through hospital–industry cooperation, the establishment of State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease could accelerate clinical translation, establish a cardiovascular prevention-and-control model tailored to China’s realities, enhance China’s cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment capabilities, and contribute Chinese insights and solutions to global cardiovascular health.

Professor Wang provided an overview of Fuwai Hospital Shenzhen’s technical platforms and scientific progress. As a branch of State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, the hospital will focus on unmet clinical needs in cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment. With a focus on the industrial strengths of the Greater Bay Area, Fuwai Hospital Shenzhen could fully leverage the regional medical center resources and accumulated expertise, and will explore new therapeutic targets and clinical intervention strategies, while advancing the development and application of cardiovascular drugs and next-generation medical devices. The restructuring of State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease also presents an opportunity to strengthen coordination with Fuwai’s Beijing headquarter, cultivates a multi-tier talent pipeline, and jointly contribute to national cardiovascular strategies.

Chairman Fu highlighted Baheal Pharma Group’s innovation incubation system and cardiovascular diseases research achievements. Over the years, Baheal has invested in and incubated cutting-edge medical devices such as the fully magnetically levitated artificial heart and the stereotactic radiotherapy system for arrhythmia. It has also partnered with Fuwai Hospital to establish a joint R&D center for myocardial repair and regeneration therapies. Against the backdrop of national efforts to integrate academia, industry, and research and enhance the translation of scientific innovations, Baheal—as a private enterprise—has embedded itself deeply within the national innovation ecosystem. Leveraging its strengths as an “industrial investor,” the company continues to provide incubation support and industrial resources for the advancement of cardiovascular diagnostics and therapeutics.

Baheal’s “Cardiovascular Innovation Base for New Drugs and Medical Devices Development,” built upon its industrial assets and ecosystem-based innovation model, has been selected as one of Beijing’s Top Ten Future Industry Incubation Bases. Based on the incubating ability of this innovation base, Baheal integrates State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease’s scientific resources and innovative achievements, to form a network of more than ten incubated enterprises to build Research Achievements Transformation Clusters. Through this effort, Baheal is establishing a globally competitive hub of original innovative cardiovascular drugs and medical devices—known as China Cardiology Park—accelerating the incubation of clinically valuable, internationally competitive breakthrough technologies to benefit patients.

As Baheal’s first participation in a national scientific research and innovation platform, State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease will provide original innovation and technical support for China’s cardiovascular strategy and the development of proprietary cardiovascular innovate drugs and medical devices. Looking ahead, Baheal will continue to focus on frontier areas in healthcare, address major national priorities and real clinical needs, and deepen its investments in cardiovascular and other critical disease fields. The company aims to pioneer safer, more precise, and more effective diagnostic and therapeutic innovations, positioning itself as a source of original breakthroughs, an incubator of scientific achievements, and a magnet for specialized talent. Ultimately, Baheal seeks to speed the journey of cutting-edge innovations from laboratory to clinic and enhance medical practice through technological advancement.