On 4 January 2026, the Xihu District science and technology innovation conference and the “296X” advanced manufacturing cluster meeting opened at the Xihu District Cultural and Sports Centre. It is the third consecutive year that the district has devoted its first meeting of the year to science and technology innovation.
At the event Westlake Pharmaceuticals received two honours: “Outstanding Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team” and “Frontier Innovation Emerging Enterprise”.
The conference, themed “Xihu first, engine of new productive forces — technology innovation leading high-quality development in advanced manufacturing”, reviewed 2025 results and set out the path ahead, supporting the growth of the “296X” cluster.
The ten most important science and technology events of 2025 in Xihu District were presented, the “Innovative Xihu” action plan and a new list of innovation scenarios were released, and key projects were signed. Awards recognised companies that performed strongly in 2025: Westlake Pharmaceuticals was named a Frontier Innovation Emerging Enterprise and retained its Outstanding Innovation and Entrepreneurship Team title.
The conference brought together academics from universities and research institutes, district leadership and relevant departments, and representatives of innovation platforms, technology companies and investors.
In recent years Xihu District has been building an innovation ecosystem around its universities so that research results move “from the bookshelf to the shelf”. Westlake Pharmaceuticals, incubated by Westlake University and Westlake Laboratory, connects academia and industry and is exploring efficient paths for technology transfer. Its progress depends on strong basic research, a complete innovation and finance ecosystem, and government support.
2026 is the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. Westlake Pharmaceuticals will continue to focus on original drug discovery, deepen the application of frontier technology in drug design, and accelerate the translation of research into clinical value.