Key Takeaways
- • The 1st S2S China Symposium, scheduled for October 15, 2026, in Hangzhou is actively soliciting biotech startup proposals from top Chinese universities and research institutions with a March 1, 2026 deadline.
- • The symposium is co-hosted by RA Capital Management and Qiming Venture Partners, combining two of the world's most active life science investors to accelerate commercialization and globalization of China's biopharmaceutical innovations.
- • S2S (Science2Startup) is an established global life science incubation platform founded in 2018 by F-Prime Capital, SV Health, and Atlas Venture; it has successfully incubated 14+ startups and hosted the S2S Japan Symposium in 2024 before expanding into China.
- • The symposium functions as an invitation-only platform enabling top scientists to present startup ideas and directly engage with leading biotech venture capital investors, bridging academic research with commercial funding.
- • This represents a strategic pivot toward China's scientific community and positions the platform as a critical nexus for channeling cutting-edge biopharmaceutical research into venture-backed commercialization.
Summary
The 1st S2S China Symposium will be held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang on October 15, 2026, marking the expansion of a globally recognized life science entrepreneurship platform into the Chinese market. Co-hosted by RA Capital Management and Qiming Venture Partners, two of the most prominent investors in life sciences and healthcare globally, the symposium is now in its second phase of soliciting biotech startup proposals from leading Chinese universities and research institutions. The call for proposals deadline is March 1, 2026.
S2S (Science2Startup) was originally founded in 2018 as a joint initiative by F-Prime Capital, SV Health, and Atlas Venture, and has established itself as a core engine for global biotech innovation. The platform has successfully incubated more than 14 startups to date and demonstrated proof of concept by hosting the S2S Japan Symposium in 2024 before targeting expansion into China. The partnership between RA Capital Management—recognized as one of the most active asset management firms in global life science and healthcare—and Qiming Venture Partners, consistently ranked within the top five globally for medical innovation investments, aims to leverage the S2S platform to accelerate the commercialization and internationalization of China's biopharmaceutical technology.
The symposium operates as a curated, invitation-only event where selected scientists present their research findings and emerging startup concepts directly to top-tier biotech investors. This structure creates a focused networking and deal-sourcing opportunity within the venture capital community while simultaneously providing Chinese researchers with direct access to world-class institutional capital. The timing and scale of this initiative underscore the strategic importance both host firms place on China's emerging biotech ecosystem and the potential to identify breakthrough innovations at the earliest stages of commercialization.
S2S (Science2Startup) was originally founded in 2018 as a joint initiative by F-Prime Capital, SV Health, and Atlas Venture, and has established itself as a core engine for global biotech innovation. The platform has successfully incubated more than 14 startups to date and demonstrated proof of concept by hosting the S2S Japan Symposium in 2024 before targeting expansion into China. The partnership between RA Capital Management—recognized as one of the most active asset management firms in global life science and healthcare—and Qiming Venture Partners, consistently ranked within the top five globally for medical innovation investments, aims to leverage the S2S platform to accelerate the commercialization and internationalization of China's biopharmaceutical technology.
The symposium operates as a curated, invitation-only event where selected scientists present their research findings and emerging startup concepts directly to top-tier biotech investors. This structure creates a focused networking and deal-sourcing opportunity within the venture capital community while simultaneously providing Chinese researchers with direct access to world-class institutional capital. The timing and scale of this initiative underscore the strategic importance both host firms place on China's emerging biotech ecosystem and the potential to identify breakthrough innovations at the earliest stages of commercialization.
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