In a strategic expansion beyond beverages, Zhong Shanshan, the 71-year-old founder of Nongfu Spring and China’s wealthiest person, is making bold moves in the global healthcare sector. Through his company Yangsheng Tang and investment vehicles, Zhong is strengthening his footprint in vaccines, diagnostics, and regenerative biomaterials—positioning himself as a key player in China’s biotech transformation.
Zhong’s entry into healthcare began in 2001, when Yangsheng Tang acquired a 95% stake in Wantai Bio, a Beijing-based biotech firm founded in 1991. Originally focused on diagnostic reagents, Wantai made early strides with its hepatitis B surface antigen rapid test strip in 1998. Under Zhong’s leadership, the company earned GMP certification and launched a third-generation HIV diagnostic reagent.
This acquisition marked Zhong’s first step into biopharma—a sector far removed from his roots in health supplements and bottled water.
A pivotal moment came in 2005, when Wantai Bio partnered with Xiamen University to establish the National Infectious Disease Diagnostic Reagents and Vaccine Engineering Research Center. This collaboration laid the groundwork for vaccine development.
In 2012, Wantai launched the world’s first recombinant hepatitis E vaccine. But its landmark achievement came in 2019, with China’s first domestically produced bivalent HPV vaccine, Cecolin®. By 2022, Wantai sold over 25 million doses of Cecolin®, generating more than ¥10 billion in revenue and entering 23 international markets with WHO prequalification.
This June, Wantai secured another milestone: Chinese regulatory approval for Cecolin®9, the country’s first and the world’s second nine-valent HPV vaccine. With cumulative R&D investment exceeding ¥1 billion, the vaccine breaks Merck’s long-standing monopoly in the high-value HPV segment.
Despite its vaccine success, Wantai continues to face headwinds in its core IVD business. In the first half of 2025, the company projected a net loss of ¥130–160 million, citing government volume-based procurement policies and the unbundling of test packages as key pressures—challenges reflective of broader IVD market dynamics.
Still, Wantai maintains a robust IVD portfolio with 463 medical device registrations and 178 active patents across chemiluminescence, ELISA, and biochemistry diagnostics.
Not one to slow down, Zhong recently led a ¥3.4 billion strategic investment in Jinbo Bio, a leader in recombinant collagen, acquiring a 10.58% stake. Jinbo’ flagship product, “Viymei,” sold 1.24 million units in 2024, contributing to revenue of ¥1.44 billion and a net profit of ¥732 million—with a staggering gross margin of 95.03% for medical devices.
Zhong’s move aligns with China’s rapidly expanding recombinant collagen market, projected to reach ¥58.57 billion in 2025 and exceed ¥219.38 billion by 2030.
Beyond corporate strategy, Zhong is investing in the future of science. In early 2025, he pledged ¥40 billion to establish the Qiantang University in Hangzhou, aimed at fostering cutting-edge research and technology transfer.
At 71, Zhong Shanshan continues to redefine his legacy—transitioning from a beverage magnate to a biotech innovator shaping China’s healthcare landscape. Through strategic acquisitions, academic partnerships, and a focus on high-margin, high-tech products, he exemplifies a new model of entrepreneurial evolution in the global health sector.
中文文章来源：IVD体外诊断网
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