Shanghai, China--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2026) - On March 18, 2026, Frost & Sullivan and Forbes China Group jointly hosted the 2026 FORBES CHINA PIONEER INNOVATORS IN INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT SELECTION GALA BANQUET at the Bulgari Hotel in Shanghai. The awards, co-initiated by Forbes China Group and Frost & Sullivan, feature one main category-the "2026 Forbes China Industry Development Pioneer Innovators"-and three sub-categories: "2026 Forbes China Industry Development Leading Enterprises," "2026 Forbes China Industry Development Innovative Brands," and "2026 Forbes China Industry Development Emerging Analysts." A total of 86 individuals and enterprises received honors. Leveraging its market position and comprehensive strength in both cell culture media and biopharmaceutical CRDMO services, Thousand Oaks Biologics (Nantong) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Thousand Oaks Biologics" or "the Company") was awarded the title of "2026 Forbes China Industry Development Leading Enterprise."

Thousand Oaks Biologics is a frontrunner dedicated to providing scaled and compliant end-to-end manufacturing solutions for biologics. Through its integrated cell culture media and biopharmaceutical CRDMO service system, the company efficiently accelerates the translation of biologics R&D into patient benefits worldwide.

1. Advancing with China's Pharma Industry - From Breaking Monopolies to Setting Standards: The Domestic Alternative Leader Fortifying Biopharma's Foundation

As a key innovator and enabler in the biopharma industry, Thousand Oaks Biologics started with cell culture media-often called the "grain" of biopharmaceuticals-and helped diversify and strengthen the global supply chain. Its subsidiary, JS Biosciences is a leading domestic manufacturer of serum-free cell culture media. Its market share rose from 1.2% in 2016 to 13.7% in 2021, and it has long secured the top position among local brands. That growth marks a leap from merely having a local alternative to providing a high-quality alternative. The supply chain crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this shift: when international suppliers cut off media supplies, Thousand Oaks Biologics completed the domestic substitution of this critical raw material within two months. It later took the lead in drafting the group standard "Quality Requirements for Amino Acids Used in Cell Culture Media," which is even stricter than international norms on some parameters. From a business perspective, Thousand Oaks Biologics' dual-engine model-"Cell Culture Media + Biopharmaceutical CRDMO"-creates a unique cost and efficiency advantage: in-house control over core raw materials enables optimized processes and cost containment downstream. Today, domestic serum-free media have captured over 30% of the market, and China's biopharma industry is gradually breaking its reliance on imported "grain." This shift matters not only for cost reduction and efficiency gains but also for fortifying supply chain security-a tangible response to the "bottleneck" challenge and a foundational implementation of the national "biomanufacturing" strategy.

2. From Early Research to Commercial Manufacturing: End-to-End Industrialization Capabilities That Set a Benchmark

Thousand Oaks Biologics has built more than just media-it has created an integrated chain from core raw materials to biopharmaceutical CRDMO. The company's system is not a simple outsourcing assembly line; it is a comprehensive, end-to-end capability ecosystem covering early-stage discovery through commercial production. On the discovery side, Ginspire (a subsidiary of Thousand Oaks Biologics) focuses on designing and optimizing complex innovative molecules, incorporating AI-driven structure prediction and engineering into the molecule-discovery phase. This closes the loop from design to efficacy evaluation to developability assessment-an approach rarely seen in traditional biopharma CRDMOs, which tend to take on relatively mature molecules. On the manufacturing side, the strategic division of labor between the Nantong and Lingang Special Area sites is noteworthy: Nantong focuses on large-scale production of conventional antibodies, while Lingang Special Area is dedicated to high-potency drugs such as ADCs. The Lingang facility, dubbed the "super-plant," offers supply chain resilience and flexibility-its single-batch fill/finish capacity reaches hundreds of thousands of units, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of medicines during critical times. Thousand Oaks Biologics' quality system is fully aligned with global regulatory requirements. It has successfully passed numerous GMP inspections, EU QP audits, over a hundred client audits (both domestic and international), and five Pre-Approval Inspection (PAI) site audits-a record still rare among domestic biopharma CRDMOs. Its global footprint (covering China, South Korea, and the United States) signals that Thousand Oaks Biologics is beginning to make its mark internationally. A deeper question is whether China's biologics manufacturing capability is moving from "big" to "strong." Companies like Thousand Oaks Biologics, with commercial-scale manufacturing experience, are the essential infrastructure for that transition.

3. ADC (Antibody-Drug Conjugate) CDMO: When the "Biological Missile" Enters an Explosive Industrialization Phase, Scalable Delivery Becomes the Game-Changer

ADC drugs are vividly described as "putting a nuclear warhead on a biological missile." Their complexity far exceeds that of monoclonal antibodies, involving the precise conjugation of three components-antibody, linker, and payload-which demands highly stringent manufacturing processes and safety controls. Thousand Oaks Biologics' strategic focus in this field is clear: it built dual-plant capacity while the industry was still in its early exploration phase. Today, the Nantong and Lingang Special Area sites cover the entire ADC workflow, from bulk antibody production and conjugation to fill/finish. The ADC finished-product line meets OEB-5 containment standards-the safety level required for handling highly potent drugs. Technologically, the company has mastered multiple conjugation approaches, enabling it to accommodate diverse molecular design requirements. Even more telling is the growth trajectory: since the ADC facility came online in August 2023, project numbers have multiplied, serving dozens of ADC programs at various stages, including commercial-phase. By the end of 2025, strategic collaborations with InxMed, Virogenbio, Ractigen, and others further validated its service capabilities in this space. Looking at industry trends, ADCs are experiencing a global explosion in R&D and commercialization. Capacity bottlenecks and process complexity are the core pain points constraining the sector. Thousand Oaks Biologics' practice demonstrates that Chinese biopharma CDMOs are moving from merely "being able to do it" to "doing it well and doing it fast"-and that is precisely the key to accelerating access to innovative medicines for patients.

Thousand Oaks Biologics' growth path-starting from cell culture media, extending across the entire biopharma CRDMO chain, and then securing capacity in high-barrier fields like ADCs-forms a virtuous cycle. Proprietary media lower costs and mitigate supply risks; CRDMO services accumulate process data and a robust quality system; and ADC capabilities represent technological depth. This "Raw materials + manufacturing service" hybrid model is increasingly becoming an indispensable infrastructure in China's biopharma value chain. It reflects a deeper transformation: China's biopharmaceutical industry is moving away from import-dependent "follow-on innovation" toward building self-reliant capabilities in core raw materials, process development, and scaled manufacturing. As these segments are progressively localized, the goal of delivering innovative medicines to patients "faster, more reliably, and more affordably" gains a truly dependable industrial foundation.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/298539

Source: Hmedium