Employees from Dream Laboratory (including Dr Glen Kemp and Dr Wei Chen (third and second right) were in China to sign a memorandum of understanding with representatives of the Qingdao University of China

DREAM Laboratory director Dr Glen Kemp describes the Chinese market as “an open door” for innovative biotech and healthcare companies.

The trick now is encouraging them to walk through it, at a time when economic uncertainty is squeezing their enthusiasm.

“The people who go out there say it’s a thriving, busy, energetic market, looking for things to buy and spend money on, and there’s a premium on innovation and British brands,” he said. “It’s like an open door, and it can be frustrating that many UK companies seem like they don’t want to walk through it. We want to show people you can gain access to a massive, market at relatively low cost.”

The former manager of the North East Proteomics Facility started helping out the Dream Laboratory as a consultant, but was encouraged by co-founders Dr Wei Chen and Hunluo Li to join full-time. The company helps biotech and healthcare businesses to bridge the gap between China and the UK, whether they’re heading west or east.

The Newcastle company recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Qingdao University of China, and opened an office in Qingdao. The Chinese co-founders both came to the UK to study, and set up the firm a year ago.

Dr Kemp said: “It’s specifically targeted at China, and there are a few areas within China that the company has a strong focus. Hunan Province, for example, has a population of 80 million. That’s more than the entire UK. China is a huge country and each individual province could be the same size as the UK market.

“It’s a mistake to think about breaking into the whole of China. It’s probably best to think about breaking into individual provinces.”

Dream Laboratory is particularly proud of its “matchmaking” skills, which enable companies to be linked up based on their capabilities and services.

Kemp said the company can provide an extra level of expertise to get over the problem of translation, as he argues many translators may be language students that may have trouble translating technical terminology.

Dr Wei Chen, co-founder of Dream Laboratory said: “I grew up in China and I understand how business is done, and it's very different to the UK.

Pictured: Employees from Dream Laboratory (including Dr Glen Kemp and Dr Wei Chen (third and second right) were in China to sign a memorandum of understanding with representatives of the Qingdao University of China