On August 31, the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (TIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences, renewed its Science and Technology Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi, Pakistan, and held a thematic seminar on deepening industry–academia–research collaboration in natural products.

Prof. Muhammad Raza Shah, Director of the International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS) at the University of Karachi, Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and UNESCO Chair on Medicinal and Bio-organic Natural Product Chemistry, together with Mr. Khan Muhammad Wazir, Science and Technology Counsellor of the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing, and Prof. Xiang Hua, Director-General of TIB, attended the event. Prof. Sun Jibin, Director of the COMSATS Joint Center for Industrial Biotechnology, chaired the meeting. Related researchers and administrative staff from TIB participated in the exchange and signing ceremony.

In his opening remarks, Prof. Xiang Hua extended a warm welcome to Prof. Muhammad Raza Shah and Mr. Khan Muhammad Wazir. He noted that ICCBS, as a world‑renowned institution for chemistry and life‑science research, has built a strong foundation in the identification and bio-activity evaluation of natural product compounds. TIB, on the other hand, possesses distinctive strengths in the microbial recombinant synthesis of key constituents of traditional Chinese medicine. The two institutions enjoy a naturally complementary basis for cooperation, and by working hand in hand, they can jointly advance the clinical application and industrial translation of natural products.

Prof. Muhammad Raza Shah introduced the overall profile and research strengths of ICCBS. He highly commended TIB’s research platform infrastructure and achievements in scientific and technological innovation, and expressed his expectation that both sides would seize the opportunity of the MOU renewal to deliver more tangible outcomes in natural product R&D and translation.

Subsequently, Prof. Xiang Hua and Prof. Muhammad Raza Shah signed the renewed cooperation MOU on behalf of their respective institutions. Under the MOU, the two sides will carry out joint research, talent cultivation, academic exchanges, and industrial promotion in areas including the exploration of traditional medicine resources, the cell factory construction and process development for natural product biosynthesis, and the large-scale preparation and clinical research of natural products.

In the discussion session, Prof. Liu Tao, Prof. Xu Min, and Dr. Li Rongsheng at TIB presented their respective research progress in the microbial production of plant-derived bioactive medicinal ingredients, the discovery and biosynthesis of microbial natural products, and the biomanufacturing of steroid hormones. The two sides engaged in in-depth exchanges on the cooperation of new drug R&D and advanced technology transfer and reached a series of shared understandings on future collaboration.

Durng the visit, Prof. Muhammad Raza Shah and his delegation also toured TIB's High-Throughput Automated Industrial Strain Foundry platform.

TIB and ICCBS, both COMSATS Centres of Excellence, signed their first MOU in 2019 and have since maintained close cooperative ties and regular exchanges. The renewal of the MOU marks a new stage in bilateral cooperation and will lay a solid foundation for in-depth collaboration in natural products and related fields. The renewal of the MOU marks a new stage in bilateral cooperation and will lay a solid foundation for in-depth collaboration in natural products and related fields.

Group Photo for the Signing Ceremony ( Image by TIB)