According to the latest information from CHAILEEDO, Bloomage Biotech announced on the evening of January 2 that due to reaching the statutory retirement age and processing retirement procedures, Guo Xueping, a director, vice general manager, and core technical personnel of the company, will no longer serve as the vice general manager of the company starting from January 1, 2025, but will continue to serve as a director of the company until the current term of the board of directors expires. In addition, Guo Xueping will no longer hold any other positions in the company or its subsidiaries, nor will he be identified as core technical personnel.
According to the 2023 annual report, Guo Xueping’s original term of office was from March 2019 to April 2025. His total pre-tax compensation from Bloomage Biotech in 2023 was 946,700 yuan. According to the latest announcement, Guo Xueping was the first incentive recipient of the Bloomage Biotech 2021 restricted stock incentive plan, being granted a total of 270,000 restricted shares, of which 81,000 restricted shares have been vested and are publicly traded. As of the date of this announcement, Guo Xueping directly owns 81,000 shares of Bloomage Biotech.
Guo Xueping has played a significant role in promoting the industrialization of hyaluronic acid.
According to the announcement, Guo Xueping, aged 59, graduated from Shandong University with a major in microbiology and biochemistry and holds a doctoral degree. Additionally, Guo Xueping is a recipient of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, the Wu Jieping-Paul Janssen Pharmaceutical Research Award, and is recognized as an expert enjoying a special government allowance from the State Council and as a young and middle-aged expert in Shandong Province with outstanding contributions. From 1987 to 1998, he served as the director and deputy director of the Shandong Provincial Institute of Biopharmaceuticals; from 2000 to March 2019, he served as the vice general manager of Huaxi Fuerda Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (the predecessor of the company).
Before retiring this time, Guo Xueping served as a director and vice general manager of Bloomage Biotech and is currently a director of Bloomage Biotech. CHAILEEDO noted that the announcement did not mention his role as the Chief Scientist of Bloomage Biotech when introducing Guo Xueping’s background. However, according to the 2023 annual report of Bloomage Biotech, when describing Guo Xueping’s main work experience at that time, besides mentioning his positions as a director and vice general manager of the company, it also mentioned his role as the Chief Scientist of Bloomage Biotech. As of the date of this announcement, Bloomage Biotech has not disclosed the selection of the company’s Chief Scientist.
When mentioning Guo Xueping, it is impossible to ignore his contributions to the industrialization of hyaluronic acid. It is understood that Guo Xueping has been dedicated to hyaluronic acid research for more than 40 years, leading the R&D team of Bloomage Biotech to achieve multiple key technological breakthroughs. So far, three out of the four industrial revolutions related to hyaluronic acid have occurred at Bloomage Biotech. The first industrial revolution of hyaluronic acid extraction from rooster combs took place in the United States. However, at that time, due to difficulties in raw material acquisition and low extraction rates, the price of hyaluronic acid was even more expensive than gold, and the product was only used in medical clinical settings.
Faced with challenges such as the difficulty and high cost of extracting hyaluronic acid from rooster combs, in 1990, Guo Xueping pioneered research on producing hyaluronic acid through microbial fermentation in China, following his mentor, which led to the second industrial revolution of hyaluronic acid. The microbial fermentation method led by Guo Xueping at Bloomage Biotech significantly reduced the cost of hyaluronic acid, achieved large-scale production, and expanded the application fields of hyaluronic acid.
The third industrial revolution was another milestone breakthrough created by Guo Xueping leading the R&D team at Bloomage Biotech – the global first “enzyme cutting method” for large-scale production of low-molecular-weight and oligomeric hyaluronic acid, applied in areas such as contact lens care solutions, family planning, cosmetics, hair care, and more. The fourth industrial revolution began in 2018, where Bloomage Biotech started using synthetic biological technology to produce hyaluronic acid through cell factories, further reducing costs and expanding applications to new fields such as household paper and textiles.
It can be said that during this period, Guo Xueping leading the R&D team at Bloomage Biotech in hyaluronic acid research has significantly promoted the industrialization process of hyaluronic acid at Bloomage Biotech and enhanced the company’s technological innovation capabilities.
“No need to fulfill post-resignation non-compete obligations”
It is worth mentioning that the announcement released by Bloomage Biotech this time also states, “During his tenure, Guo Xueping was mainly responsible for the company’s hyaluronic acid raw materials, medical device-related R&D projects, and participated in the application of multiple invention patents, utility model patents, and design patents. He was not the sole inventor, and the ownership of these patents belongs to the company or its subsidiaries. Guo Xueping’s departure does not affect the integrity of the company’s patent rights, nor does it involve any disputes or potential disputes with the company or its subsidiaries regarding inventions made in the course of his duties.”
According to the announcement, Guo Xueping has signed a “Employee Confidentiality and Non-Compete Agreement” with Bloomage Biotech, which stipulates that any intellectual property rights related to inventions, creations, products, computer software, works, trade secrets, and other business secrets created during his tenure either by performing his duties or primarily utilizing the company’s material technological conditions and business information belong to the company. However, the recent Bloomage Biotech announcement also mentions that “after comprehensive consideration, the company has decided that Guo Xueping is not required to fulfill post-resignation non-compete obligations, and the company is not required to pay Guo Xueping any economic compensation for non-compete obligations.”
It is understood that as a biotechnology company and a full industry chain platform company driven by synthetic biological technology innovation, Bloomage Biotech has established six research and development platforms including synthetic biology research and development platform, microbial fermentation platform, application mechanism research and development platform, pilot conversion platform, cross-linking technology platform, and formulation process research and development platform. Additionally, Bloomage Biotech has formed a research and development committee composed of business, research, and intellectual property-related leaders, and introduced the IPD research and development management system (Integrated Product Development, abbreviated as IPD), dedicated to shortening the product development cycle, enhancing the efficiency of research and development outcomes, and market performance by bridging the gap between the market and research and development.
The latest announcement shows that as of the end of 2022, the end of 2023, and June 30, 2024, the number of research and development personnel at Bloomage Biotech was 827, 926, and 867, respectively, with backgrounds in interdisciplinary disciplines such as pharmacy, pharmaceutical formulation, fermentation engineering, materials science, biomedical engineering, molecular biology, and microbiology. Those under 40 years old accounted for over 85% of the research and development personnel, indicating an increasing level of specialization and youthfulness in the research and development team, supporting the R&D work of nearly 300 ongoing projects at the company.
“The departure of core technical personnel will not have a significant adverse impact on the company’s technological advantages, core competitiveness, business development, and product innovation.” Bloomage Biotech also stated in the latest announcement, “The company’s research and development work is progressing normally and orderly. The company will further improve the efficiency of market transformation of research and development outcomes by enhancing organizational capabilities and bridging various links from the laboratory to the market. Through the continuous introduction of outstanding talents and the optimization and adjustment of the research and development team, the company will maintain sensitivity to cutting-edge technology and technological innovation capabilities, continuously develop market-competitive products.”
Bloomage Biotech is advancing amidst continuous transformations
As a leading biotechnology company in China that has pioneered the functional skincare product sector domestically, Bloomage Biotech has been under high scrutiny from the public. For Bloomage Biotech, the year 2024 has been defined as a “year of transformation” and the company has actively transitioned from high-speed growth to high-quality growth. Terms like “management” and “transformation” have been frequently mentioned in the company’s financial reports.
According to a report from Guoyuan Securities, Bloomage Biotech has enlisted the assistance of an IBM management consulting team to aid in management transformations and has launched 48 transformation projects. In the cosmetics business sector, in September 2024, Bloomage Biotech introduced the “Mechanical Number” series under its brand Quadi, which focuses on “medical aesthetic post-care,” covering various tracks such as basic repair, hyaluronic acid repair, recombinant collagen repair, among others. In October of the same year, Bloomage Biotech’s brand BIOHYALUX also launched the “Mechanical Number” white gauze medical wound dressing, using pharmaceutical-grade hyaluronic acid in its composition, intending to aid wound healing.
In the medical aesthetics business sector, in August 2024, the “Sodium Hyaluronate Composite Solution for Injection” independently developed by Bloomage Biotech successfully obtained market approval from the National Medical Products Administration. This product is a new generation neck specialized nutritional product by Bloomage Biotech, utilizing an exclusive triple-molecule self-crosslinking technology, achieving a dense and viscoelastic product structure without the addition of any crosslinking agents. Coupled with patented amino acid clusters, it provides consumers with a solution for neck rejuvenation, and this differentiated product is expected to drive continuous growth in the company’s medical aesthetics sector.
Additionally, Bloomage Biotech has officially unveiled its independently developed “Personalized Customized Skincare Service” technological achievement, which will first be applied within the BIOHYALUX brand. In November 2024, personalized customized store workstations will debut at the BIOHYALUX Qingdao Wanda Plaza store, initiating personalized customized services for consumers. It is worth noting that in terms of raw materials, Bloomage Biotech has long evolved from a mere “raw material company” to one driven by synthetic biological technology, providing comprehensive and systematic solutions for personal care and even the biopharmaceutical field to all upstream and downstream companies.
Looking at the latest research directions, Bloomage Biotech is currently being driven by synthetic biology and is converging towards three major directions: regenerative medicine, glycobiology, and cell biology, thus embarking on a new round of strategic upgrades. It is worth mentioning that Bloomage Biotech’s regenerative medical technology has been applied in functional skincare products, with its BIOHYALUX “BloomCell Cell Nutrient Solution” and Quadi’s new generation “CT50 Cell Energy Liquid” utilizing innovative achievements in regenerative medicine “cell precise regulation.”
It can be said that what has brought Bloomage Biotech to its current position is primarily the spirit of continuous exploration and innovation within the company. Just as Zhao Yan, the Chairman and President of Bloomage Biotech, has publicly stated, “Imagination promotes the development of technology, and technology leads progress.” Therefore, the retirement of core technical personnel such as Guo Xueping is merely a normal transition in Bloomage Biotech’s path of technological innovation. This not only marks the end of an era but also signifies that Bloomage Biotech is poised to embark on another era of technological innovation.
