Born in a rural village in the northwestern province of Shaanxi, Ms. Fan studied chemical engineering in Xi’an, where she met her husband Yan Jianya.

She obtained a PhD from East China University of Science and Technology in Shanghai, becoming China’s first female PhD student in biochemistry. In 1994, at the age of 28 and with just 5,000 yuan to her name, she returned to her alma mater in Xi’an to lead a team studying human collagen, the product that would later become the basis of her company. From January 1999 to January 2000, she was a visiting researcher at the National Center for Biological Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA.

In 2000, she returned to China and joined forces with her husband to launch Giant Biogene, China’s first recombinant collagen company.

After the rise of hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, it’s now collagen that tops list of the hottest active ingredients on beauty market. Riding this wave, the type of collagen Fan is promoting - recombinant collagen, or «human-type collagen» - is safer and easier to store than the more common animal-derived collagen. 
Five years later, she obtained her first patent. It was the first such patent to be independently developed in China. The company registered its first trademark in 2009. Today, it manufactures over 100 products under eight brand names. These include skin care products, medical dressings and the Kefumei and Kefuxin beauty masks, which are very popular in China. 

In November 2022, Giant Biogène raised $70 million in IPO on Hong Kong Stock Exchange in order to strengthen research and development capabilities, increase production capacity and improve sales and distribution network.

During this period, the company was one of the few to perform one month after its IPO. Giant Biogène’s sales increased by 44% last year (between 2022 and 2023). 
Today, Giant Bio is one of the world’s leading producers of recombinant collagen. It has also been the largest professional collagen skin care company in China for three consecutive years. To date, company has sold and distributed products to over 1,000 public hospitals, around 1,700 private hospitals and clinics, and around 300 pharmacy chains throughout China. 
Fan Faidi’s company also relies on the e-commerce platforms Tmall (Alibaba), JD.com, Douyin (the Chinese version of Tik Tok) and Pinduoduo. Some of its products are also sold in cosmetics chains and supermarket chains (over 2000). Research and development team comprises 84 people, or 12.6% of the total workforce.

Deeply involved in healthcare in China, company has donated money and equipment totalling yuan 4.67 million.

The couple’s rise contrasts with that of most of their Chinese counterparts, who lost part of their fortune this year. Dr Fan Daidi owns nearly 59% of Giant Biogene.  
She is also Scientific Director and Dean of the Biomedical Research Institute at Northwest University in Xi’an. She holds a minority stake in Xi’an Triangle Defense, a supplier of aircraft parts, worth around $175 million. Her husband, Yan Jianya, the company’s other co-founder and chairman, also chairs Xi’an Triangle Defense Co. and holds a stake of $55 million.