The ZETA Symposium 2024 took place at the picturesque Schloss Seggau in Southern Styria, where top executives from the biopharma and biotech manufacturing industry from around the globe convened to discuss forward-thinking topics with high-level technical experts and scientific partners.

The well-established event provided a platform for 160 participants to focus on artificial intelligence as a driving force for the industry's transformative journey and to highlight sustainable solutions.

——From ZETA Symposium 2024 Review

In March 2024, the ZETA2024 Symposium was held at Schloss Seggau Castle in the scenic southern part of Styria, Austria. Over 160 executives, technical experts, and partners from the biopharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors across more than ten countries worldwide gathered to engage in forward-looking discussions around the theme "Pioneering the Future of Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology with Artificial Intelligence." Christian Bachofen, an internationally renowned expert in biopharmaceutical design and Chief Technical Officer of TIANS Biopharmaceuticals, and Song Xiaohui, an expert in biotechnology industrialization, Director and Vice President of TIANS, were invited to attend and deliver keynote speeches.

Christian Bachofen kicked off his speech with the theme "Decoding Key Differences: European vs. Chinese Pharmaceutical Projects." He first analyzed the driving factors behind the rapid response speed of the Chinese market from multiple aspects, including market competitiveness, market demand, and objective conditions. Subsequently, he summarized the advantages and disadvantages of different systems by comparing the European and Chinese markets in terms of planning costs, equipment costs, product quality, risk levels, as well as the entire life cycle and maintenance. Finally, integrating Chinese and European concepts, he put forward five key elements: encouraging quick and direct decision-making; having equipment suppliers deeply participate in the early stages; freezing the early design to avoid extensive discussions in the later stages of the project; and managing projects through risk mitigation strategies.

Christian Bachofen sharing his insights

Song Xiaohui then delivered an in-depth elaboration on the theme "Achieving Rapid Project Execution in China’s Pharmaceutical Industry: Insider’s Insights." He first listed the execution timeframes for various stages of typical pharmaceutical projects in China, such as design, civil engineering, construction, and mechanical and electrical installation. He pointed out that in the early stage before contract signing, process technology experts are needed to assist owners in process optimization, and the general contractor must establish a strong engineering team that integrates professionals from design, civil engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, automation, environmental protection, and other fields, while reducing external participants to lower risks. To accelerate project execution, designers need to conduct on-site design, and BIM modeling should be used to guide construction to ensure construction accuracy; cross-construction of projects in different stages and parallel arrangement of projects in different spaces should be adopted to maximize the use of time and space opportunities. Most importantly, it is essential to take customers' needs as the starting point, respond with the fastest speed, and provide customers with the best services.

Song Xiaohui sharing his insights

During the three-day symposium, more than 10 technical experts from international companies such as Boehringer Ingelheim, Novo Nordisk, Merck, Bayer, Roche, and Siemens delivered wonderful sharing sessions on topics such as AI-driven drug discovery, digitalization, sustainable development, and cutting-edge biotechnology. Participants continuously absorbed experiences and ideas from leading enterprises and explored smarter and more sustainable solutions through group discussions, roundtable forums, castle dinners, and other forms, while exchanging views on the future development of biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals.

 Group photo

As an engineering design group empowering the industrialization of new technologies TIANS, relying on advanced design concepts and a forward-looking international perspective, provides global customers with comprehensive solutions integrating technology research and development, engineering consulting and design, engineering general contracting, intelligent equipment, automation, and informatization, helping customers achieve industrialization transformation from Lab to Fab. In recent years, it has successively built many high-quality projects meeting international standards for leading enterprises in the pharmaceutical, fine chemical, and synthetic biology sectors, such as BeiGene, Junshi Biosciences, Qilu Pharmaceutical, Pharmaron, Bluepha, and Yanyi New Energy. In the future, TIANS will always embrace the future development trend of the industry with a cutting-edge vision and an open mindset, continuously integrate international advanced concepts, undergo continuous transformation and upgrading, and contribute to the progress and development of the high-tech industry.