Help Therapeutics and Zhuhai University Institute of Science and Technology recently signed a joint laboratory strategic cooperation agreement, the two sides will be located in Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone, Guangdong-Macao cooperation in Chinese medicine science and technology industrial park, Zhuhai Research Institute Phase II "Chinese medicine and translational medicine research and development center" to build a research and development technology platform, joint regenerative medicine research, for the cooperation zone vigorously develop biomedical industry and the development of Guangdong-Macao deep cooperation another.

The joint lab project will be carried out by the team of Help Therapeutics and the team of Professor Chen Guo Kai, a researcher at the Institute of Science and Technology of the University of Macau and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Macau. Prof. Chen Guokai pointed out that with the increasing development of stem cell technology, cell transplantation has become a potential modality for the treatment of degenerative diseases of the elderly. Therefore, Help Therapeutics and Prof. Chen Guokai's team set up a special joint development project, combining their respective technical advantages to jointly conduct scientific research in the field of degenerative diseases and further promote the cell therapy industry and the translation of biomedicine on the ground.

The team members of the joint lab have been collaborating on stem cell research and development for many years, and jointly published an article titled "Endogenous IGF Signaling Directs Heterogeneous Mesoderm Differentiation in Human Embryonic Stem Cells" in Cell Reports back in 2019, laying a solid foundation for this collaboration.

Help Therapeutics co-founder Zhou Yuan said that the company highly recognizes the basic scientific research strength, talent cultivation advantages and innovative results transformation mechanism of AUC and JTRI in cell therapy, and this investment in establishing a joint laboratory with JTRI is a new exploration of scientific research innovation transformation between the two sides.

Prof. Wang Chunming, Vice President of PRI, thanked the recognition and trust of Alps Regenerative Medicine to AUC and PRI, and expected that both parties could further aggregate the advantageous resources inside and outside the Zone, actively focus on the industrial development needs of the Zone, and contribute to the promotion of Guangdong-Macao biomedical integration and innovation, and promote the transformation of Macao's scientific research achievements. The Institute is the first industry-academia-research demonstration base set up by the University of Macau in the Zone, and is the cooperation hub of Zhuhai-Macao cooperation in building an international science and technology innovation center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. It introduces the research strengths of three state key laboratories and institutes of superior disciplines in the Zone, integrates into the Bay Area and participates in national research projects, promotes the transformation of scientific and technological achievements and cultivates new industries. Phase II of the Center for Chinese Medicine and Translational Medicine has 15 functional laboratories such as animal laboratories, cell culture rooms and drug preparation rooms, as well as 15 laboratories for start-up teams, and 11 industrialization projects have been signed including this project. The establishment of this joint laboratory is a new "growth pole" for the construction of multi-field and multi-directional industry-academia-research of the Institute, and is another new progress of the Institute in the field of translational medicine industry-academia-research cooperation.