Program supported by a Tianjin Municipal Major Special Project marks Hankang’s move from development partner to originator of Class 1 innovative drugs.
TIANJIN, China | October 2026
Tianjin Hankang Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Company Limited ("Hankang") announced that its program "AI Large Model-Based Discovery and Development of Innovative Small Molecule Drugs for Oncology and Autoimmune Diseases" has recently completed key studies and achieved its interim objectives. The program was selected in 2025 as a Tianjin Municipal Major Special Project in Biomedicine. The milestone represents substantive progress in Hankang's development of Class 1 innovative drugs, the category reserved for novel drugs not previously marketed anywhere in the world under China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) classification.
About the Program
· Support: Tianjin Municipal Major Special Project in Biomedicine, approved in 2025
· Therapeutic focus: Oncology and autoimmune diseases
· Modality: Novel small molecules
· Approach: AI large models applied across molecular screening, structure optimization and activity prediction
Conventional small molecule discovery is long, costly and uncertain. By integrating AI models into the earliest and most iterative stages of design, the program aims to shorten discovery timelines, reduce development costs and generate candidates for diseases where current treatment options remain limited. Hankang will continue to advance the program and further develop its AI-enabled discovery capabilities.
From Development Partner to Drug Originator
Over more than two decades, Hankang has helped more than 600 pharmaceutical companies develop over 200 products. That experience across medicinal chemistry, formulation, analytics, clinical research and manufacturing now underpins its own discovery pipeline. The company already offers AI-enabled drug discovery services to partners. With this program, it is applying the same capabilities to originate its own innovative molecules.
The milestone reflects a broader shift in China's pharmaceutical industry, away from generic and incremental development and toward novel medicines that address unmet clinical needs.
About Hankang
Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Tianjin, China, Tianjin Hankang Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Company Limited is a research-driven CRO-CDMO providing integrated services across the drug development value chain, including AI-enabled drug discovery, pharmaceutical development, clinical research, bioanalysis, re-evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine injections, regulatory registration and commercial manufacturing. A subsidiary of Wuhan Hiteck Biological Pharma Co., Ltd. (300683.SZ), Hankang operates more than 10 advanced formulation and API development platforms and has developed over 200 products for more than 600 companies in China and internationally. The company holds national- and provincial-level Enterprise Technology Center designations, has led multiple national research projects under China's 11th, 12th and 13th Five-Year Plans, and has ranked among the top three in the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce's "China Top 50 Pharmaceutical R&D Companies" list for several consecutive years.
