About IDDT

Institute of Drug Discovery Technology of Ningbo University (IDDT) was officially inaugurated on December 11, 2017, with Professor Zhao Yufen, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ningbo University's first full-time recruited academician, serving as Director. The Institute's mission is to integrate multidisciplinary technologies and methodologies from chemistry, pharmacy, artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics to develop original drug discovery technologies for space station and deep space exploration applications, to research and develop a series of drugs and health products with promising therapeutic potential, and to establish a distinctive and influential aerospace biomedical R&D center with national and international recognition, focusing on natural medicines (traditional Chinese medicine and marine drugs).

With the support and care of the Ningbo Municipal Party Committee, Municipal Government, and Ningbo University, the Institute has received continuous investment of approximately 225 million RMB. It has established research platforms covering approximately 4,000 square meters, including multiple scientific research and innovation platforms (centers) such as the High-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Center, Protein Mass Spectrometry Center, Theoretical Computation and Bioinformatics Platform, Extreme Environment Scientific Research Laboratory Platform, Chiral Analysis and Pharmaceutical Synthesis Analysis Platform, and Biology Laboratory Platform, with total equipment value of approximately 85.94 million RMB. In December 2019, building upon the Institute, Ningbo University and the China Academy of Space Technology (Qian Xuesen Laboratory of Space Technology and China Aerospace Shenzhou Biotech Group Co., Ltd.) jointly established the "Qian Xuesen Collaborative Research Center of Astrochemistryand SpaceLife Sciences." In September 2021, Ningbo University and CR Double-Crane jointly founded the "Joint Research Institute for Innovative Peptide Drugs" based on the Institute. In December 2022, the "Fuerxin Pharmaceutical - Ningbo University Joint Innovation Research Institute for Green Phosphorus Chemistry and Chemical Engineering" was co-established with Jiangxi Fuerxin Pharmaceutical & Chemical Co., Ltd. In 2023, the Institute promoted the establishment of a provincial-level industry-academia-research platform - the Xinjiang Jujube Industry Development Research Institute.

The Institute currently employs over 40 full-time researchers, including one Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as multiple high-level talents such as national-level experts and World Health Organization traditional medicine consultants. The Institute is authorized to recruit postdoctoral researchers, with 9 currently in residence and 2 having completed their terms. It conducts master's and doctoral student training in pharmacy, biology, and other disciplines, with over 120 graduate students currently enrolled or graduated.

Since its establishment, the Institute has received 100 million RMB in funding from the Ningbo Top Talent Project and over 26 million RMB in national and provincial-ministerial level support. It currently jointly undertakes one National Basic Science Center project and serves as principal investigator for one key project under the National Natural Science Foundation of China's Major Research Plan. The Institute manages over 60 research projects of various types, including 5 National General Program projects and 14 Youth Science Fund projects. It undertakes 3 scientific experimental projects for the Space Station Engineering Space Application System and has conducted research aboard Shenzhou spacecraft missions on multiple occasions. The Institute has published over 100 high-level academic papers in relevant journals, including 5 in top-tier publications, and has been granted 19 Chinese invention patents. In 2024, Researcher Liu Xinmin received international awards including Pakistan's Presidential Tamgha-i-Quaid-e-Azam Award, the UAE President Zayed Award for Traditional and Alternative Medicine - Outstanding Contribution to Traditional Chinese Medicine Research, and the Second Prize of the Chinese Association for Laboratory Animal Sciences Science and Technology Award. The Institute has organized a series of popular science activities themed "Space Exploration" and published one monograph. It participated in organizing the 23rd International Conference on Phosphorus Chemistry and hosted the 24th International Conference on Phosphorus Chemistry in November 2023. The Institute is actively bidding to host the 2028 Origins of Life Conference. It also actively organizes and participates in research and cooperation with Belt and Road countries such as Pakistan and Portugal in fields including traditional Chinese medicine, continuously enhancing its international academic influence.

Guided by the research philosophy of "Space-Oriented, Collaborative Innovation, Health Service, and Global Reach," the Institute of Drug Discovery Technology aims to create new drug R&D technologies and methodologies with China's core independent intellectual property rights, develop a series of drugs and health products with promising therapeutic prospects, and promote product transformation and industrialization to serve Healthy China initiatives. While providing robust technical support for safeguarding the physical and mental health of Chinese astronauts and ensuring the smooth progress of space missions, the Institute advances the development of China's future space pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities and leads the international direction of space pharmaceutical development. (Data as of March 2025)