Shanghai Cell Therapy Group uses a cinematic launch film to frame its Beidaihe hospital around longevity mythology

By AI, Created 8:32 AM UTC, May 28, 2026, /AGP/ – Shanghai Cell Therapy Group has released a 4-minute launch film for its new Beidaihe hospital that links modern cell therapy to Chinese mythology and Qin Shi Huang’s search for immortality. The campaign is drawing attention beyond China’s usual pharma channels as SCTG prepares for a Hong Kong IPO and expands its Baize Project.

Why it matters: - Shanghai Cell Therapy Group is trying to sell cell therapy as a cultural story, not just a medical product. - The film is reaching international biotech audiences that often ignore Chinese corporate communications. - The campaign gives SCTG a new way to frame its hospital launch, pipeline and long-term longevity ambitions.

What happened: - Shanghai Cell Therapy Group released a 4-minute cinematic launch film, “The Baize Ode: A New Verse for Beidaihe.” - The film is tied to the May 8, 2026 opening of Shanghai Cell Therapy Group Qinhuangdao Beidaihe District Hospital. - The hospital is an 18,700 m² integrated medical complex on an 80,000 m² seaside campus in Beidaihe. - The campus sits inside the Beidaihe Life-Health Industry Innovation Demonstration Zone. - The zone is China’s only State Council-approved national-level life-health demonstration zone. - The zone was co-developed with UNOPS. - The film is circulating on “Biotech Twitter,” LinkedIn, CGT newsletters and biotech podcasts in production.

The details: - The hospital combines precision medicine and recuperative care. - The site is adjacent to Beidaihe’s “Gold Coast.” - The investment agreement was signed on April 24, 2026. - First patient consultations began on May 8, 2026. - The turnaround from agreement to consultations was 14 days. - The hospital marks the second-phase milestone of SCTG’s flagship “Baize Project,” launched in 2016. - SCTG’s stated long-horizon goals for the Baize Project are 60% of late-stage cancer patients achieving tumor reversal within 10 years, 60% of the general population being able to afford the therapy within 10 years, and humans living healthily to 120 within 30 years. - The film opens with a seven-character classical Chinese poem and gold-particle animation of the Yellow Emperor meeting Baize. - The film connects SCTG’s Beidaihe site to Qin Shi Huang’s expeditions for the elixir of immortality on the same coastline, then called Jieshi. - Qin Shi Huang’s quest for immortality took place in 215 BCE. - The film names Baize, a sacred creature in Chinese mythology said in The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon to understand every disease in the world, 11,520 in total. - The opening poem was written by Dr. Qian Qijun, SCTG’s founder, chairman and president. - Dr. Qian Qijun is one of three Chinese scholars on The Lancet’s 81-member International Advisory Board. - SCTG says its pipeline includes BZD1901, described as the world’s first autocrine nanobody CAR-T drug and IND-approved in 2022. - SCTG also says its Flash CAR-T platform completes patient-specific CAR-T manufacturing in 6 hours, versus an industry standard of about 10 days. - SCTG says it holds 217 cell therapy patents, including 47 granted patents and 2 U.S. patents, and has published 83 SCI papers. - SCTG is preparing for an HKEX IPO. - A video of the film is available here: the company’s video.

Between the lines: - The film uses mythology, classical poetry and history to make cell therapy feel more enduring and culturally resonant. - That approach is unusual in Chinese pharma marketing, which is typically more restrained and product-focused. - The modular structure of the film — poem, myth, emperor, coastline and hospital — appears designed to travel across social platforms and search. - Observers have described the launch piece as one of the most cinematically ambitious ever released by a Chinese cell therapy company.

What’s next: - SCTG is likely to keep using the Beidaihe launch as a branding asset while it pursues a Hong Kong listing. - The Baize Project’s long-term clinical and affordability goals will remain central to SCTG’s public narrative. - The new hospital will be the real test of whether the company’s story can translate into adoption, attention and patient volume.

The bottom line: - SCTG is not just launching a hospital. It is packaging cell therapy as a longevity myth, and betting that narrative can travel farther than a standard biotech pitch.