On 23 February local time in Los Angeles in the United States, Yuan Yafei, Chairman of Sanpower Group, met with Mr. Kary Mullis, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993, known as “the father of PCR”, and Mr. Arieh Warshel, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013. During the pleasant and friendly conversation in the afternoon, Yuan Yafei and the two scientists reminisced about the journeys of their scientific research, and talked about some frontier topics such as genome sequencing, medical innovation based on big data, the future of precision medicine and so on. Yuan Yafei cordially invited the two Nobel laureates to take up the posts as scientific consultants for the Broad Health division of Sanpower, providing top-notch technical support for this division and professional advices for oversea M&A deals in this sector. The two parties communicated thoroughly about several cooperation matters and reached a consensus.

Yuan Yafei holds hands with the two Nobel laureates

Kary Mullis is a well-known American biochemist. In the early 1980s, he developed the PCR technique, also known as cell-free cloning, a new approach to quickly amplify specific DNA sequences in vitro. This achievement has paved the way for in-depth study of DNA and the Human Genome Project, initiating the reform of biochemical studies in the 1990s. Because of that achievement, Kary Mullis won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993. It is fair to say that he has laid the foundation for modern molecular biology, leading humans to the field of genome sequencing.

 

Arieh Warshel is winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2013. An academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, he received the prize for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems, which enables chemists to use computers to reveal the mysterious world of chemistry and paves the way for medical innovation based on big data and precision medicine. This tool now has been widely used in different fields. During the conversation, Yuan Yafei also consulted Professor Warshel about several precision medicine projects based on big data.

Yuan Yafei pointed out that Sanpower Group had long since considered healthcare a promising sector, putting the plan for the "Broad Health" into practice by oversea M&A. Recently, the Group has also entered the field of biotherapeutics through M&A. He believed that following the progress in biomedicine, genetic engineering and other scientific and technological approaches, personalized medicine and preventive medicine, represented by cord blood banking, stem-cell therapy, genetic testing and others, will become a new drive for the growth of the healthcare industry. In meeting and talking with the two Nobel laureates for cooperation, he hoped that the cooperation with the Nobel Prize winning scientists will make it possible for the top-notch team and technologies behind them to connect with Sanpower Group which is professional in business operation, so that a win-win result will be achieved.

The two Nobel laureates had known that China Cord Blood Corporation (CO), the largest Chinese cord blood banking company listed on the New York Stock Exchange was about to be acquired and Yuan Yafei is the effective controller of it. They believed that acquisition of CO will be a good start to engage in biotherapeutics, as abundant cord blood resources will give huge advantages to technological development in the downstream industry. During the conversation with Yuan Yafei about his entrepreneurial journey, they learned about Sanpower’s business planning and managerial culture as a combination of Chinese and Western ways. The two scientists spoke highly of Sanpower Group and Yuan Yafei. They thought that based on its world-class business operation and management, Sanpower Group is able to commercialise the state-of-the-art technologies and combine powerful scientific technologies and industries to benefit mankind.

They also said that they had confidence in the development of China, that they looked forward to coming to China and were very happy about the vision of and consensus on cooperation were achieved through the conversation. At the end of the meeting, Kary Mullis gave Yuan Yafei an autographed copy of his autobiography Dancing Naked in the Mind Field as a gift.