In recent years, "chokepoint technologies" has become an internet buzzword and a source of deep concern for countless Chinese people. The so-called "chokepoint technologies" refer to the core and key technologies in industrial development—technologies that cannot be obtained through begging or borrowing. Relying on others for these technologies means being at their mercy.

In China's veterinary drug industry, there were once many such "chokepoint technologies," but through the unremitting efforts of researchers, these barriers are gradually being overcome. The production and preparation technology of "Nosiheptide" is one such example, and the main contributor behind its breakthrough is Chen Guicai, a returned high-tech talent based in Haining High-tech Zone. Under his leadership and that of his team, China's Nosiheptide production and preparation technology now stands at the forefront of the world.

Burning Bridges: No Retreat in Entrepreneurship

Chen Guicai, 59, hails from Rongchang, Chongqing. After graduating with a master's degree from the Department of Animal Husbandry at Northeast Agricultural University in Harbin in 1988, he was assigned to teach undergraduate students in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine at Zhejiang Agricultural University (now part of Zhejiang University). He held this position until 1993, when he decided to return to academia to pursue a doctoral degree in biology at the College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University.

By 1997, the global industrialization of biotechnology was advancing rapidly, but compared to foreign countries, China's biotechnology industry lagged far behind in both technological research and industrialization. Witnessing this gap, Chen—still a doctoral candidate at the time—made the decision to "venture into the business world," joining the wave of biotechnology industrialization to develop China's own biotech industry.

Many university teachers and professors in China have left academia to start businesses, but most choose to retain their teaching positions with suspended salaries. Chen Guicai, however, resigned from all his academic roles. "I didn't leave myself a way out. Many people didn't understand my decision and worried about what would happen if my business failed. I told them: if I couldn't support myself by starting a business, I wouldn't have the face to go back to teaching," he recalled.

With the determination to burn his bridges, Chen founded Hangzhou Esigma Biotechnology Co., Ltd., focusing on the R&D and production of feed additives. The company started with just over a dozen employees, but thanks to its outstanding technology, it grew to 40-50 people within two years. Just as the company was poised for rapid growth, Chen made a surprising decision—to go abroad.

"I had always wanted to study overseas to broaden my horizons," he said. Although going abroad would undoubtedly have a short-term negative impact on the company, Chen thought it through clearly. "I knew that without seeing advanced foreign technologies firsthand, it would be detrimental to the company's long-term development. Short-term setbacks don't matter; it's necessary for the long run. Only by going there could we understand the gap, stay at the forefront of industry technology, and make the best feed additives."

In 1999, Chen pursued further studies at Harvard Medical School in the United States. He not only studied advanced American technologies diligently but also gained a comprehensive understanding of American society, especially the development history of American enterprises, to explore business development laws and identify valuable experiences to learn from.

All or Nothing: Fighting for the Future of China's Veterinary Drug Industry

During his time at Harvard, Chen's exceptional research abilities attracted offers from numerous American institutions and universities. However, he declined them all, giving up a stable, high-paying career to resolutely return to China. His goal: to develop his own feed additives and fight for a bright future for China's veterinary drug industry.

"Staying in university for a lifetime is indeed a relatively stable path, but scientific research achievements in academia are only semi-finished products. I wanted to turn them into tangible finished products," Chen explained. After returning to China, the Harvard postdoctoral fellow invested all the funds accumulated by his previous enterprise into researching Nosiheptide.

Simply put, Nosiheptide is a new generation of feed additives for livestock and poultry—a novel feed medicinal additive that is not absorbed in the animal intestines, leaves no residues, significantly promotes animal growth, and improves feed utilization. It was highly favored by many enterprises, but its research was extremely difficult and required high investment.

"We essentially bet everything on this. We invested over 10 million yuan in just over two years," Chen recalled. The first three years of researching Nosiheptide resulted in severe losses.

But hard work pays off. After several years of arduous research, the company finally mastered the large-scale production and preparation technology of Nosiheptide, becoming the second company in the world and the first in China to possess this technology. After more than a decade of development, Esigma has now emerged as a global leader in Nosiheptide, holding over 40 invention patents. It houses research institutions such as the Zhejiang Postdoctoral Workstation and the Zhejiang Academician Expert Workstation, and has established production bases for fine chemicals, biological fermentation, and animal health products, with multiple GMP production lines. Its products are sold in more than 30 provinces/municipalities directly under the Central Government in China and over 40 countries worldwide.

Last year, the company launched its new product Suolikang (Nosiheptide premix), a veterinary drug directly targeting farmers. It has a special effect on Gram-positive bacteria (especially Clostridium species) and attracted inquiries and orders from customers across the country at the 21st China Animal Agriculture Expo (2024) held in May this year.

Fruitful Achievements: Winning Dozens of Heavyweight Honors

Over 27 years of entrepreneurship, despite inevitable hardships and setbacks, Chen Guicai has reaped numerous achievements. He has successively won dozens of heavyweight honors, including the China Private Technology Enterprise Innovation Award, the China Feed Major Technological Progress and Application Award, Outstanding Returned Overseas Student in Zhejiang Province, Outstanding Figure in Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine in the 60 Years of New China, Top 10 New Technology Entrepreneurs in Zhejiang (First Session), First-Class Zhejiang Provincial Science and Technology Award, Distinguished Young and Middle-Aged Expert with Outstanding Contributions in Zhejiang Province, Top 10 Outstanding Figures for Revitalizing China's Animal Husbandry (Third Session), China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Innovation Award, China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Innovation Award (Individual), Ministry of Science and Technology Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent, and National-Level Leading Talent.

Today, under Chen Guicai's leadership, Esigma Biotechnology has established itself at the forefront of the global veterinary drug industry. "Especially in Nosiheptide technology, we are the most advanced in the world with the strongest competitiveness. In the future, we will continue to intensify efforts in core technology research and accelerate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements to ensure we maintain our leading position in the industry," Chen said.