China's medical technology shows world-leading signs in some fields

AstraZeneca and five Wuxi-based local innovative biomedical enterprises release a collaborative overseas plan in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Friday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

In the process of going international, China's medical technology has shown signs of overtaking and leading the world in some fields, such as cell therapy, gene editing and some medical equipment, said a senior executive of a multinational pharmaceutical company.

A large proportion of business in those areas are from overseas markets, said Leon Wang, executive vice-president, international and China president at AstraZeneca during a media interview at the seventh AstraZeneca China Ecosystem Conference held in Wuxi city, Jiangsu province, from Friday to Saturday.

"Also, developing countries have a strong demand for medical technology from China. Although some of the domestic innovations are still a bit homogeneous, they are a rarity in some other developing countries. So we organize local enterprises to expand business in many other developing countries," said Wang.

China is the headquarter for the markets of developing countries for AstraZeneca. Wang said that gives the company an edge in understanding the markets well and knowing which countries to begin with when Chinese enterprises take their steps to go global.

"We usually recommend them to start with those big countries that are also very friendly to China. Many of such countries, such as Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Mexico, usually have a large population, which translates to substantial market needs," he said.

AstraZeneca and five Wuxi-based local innovative biomedical enterprises released a collaborative overseas plan during the conference. The initiative was aimed to assist the enterprises to facilitate cross-border cooperation and exchanges in pharmaceutical innovation, and to truly realize that Chinese innovations benefit patients around the world.

Also, AstraZeneca and an international medical research center in Saudi Arabia held a ceremony to further promote in-depth cooperation between the two countries in the field of medical and health care. The two sides will bring the experience of China's medical innovation to drive the development of Saudi Arabia's life science industry. Also, this will accelerate the expansion of innovative Chinese enterprises in the Middle East market through Saudi Arabia.

At the conference themed "accelerating health innovation, deepening global partnership", AstraZeneca worked with partners from home and abroad to achieve a number of important ecosystem cooperation results, covering innovative cancer diagnosis and treatment, chronic disease management, international overseas cooperation, talent development, and sustainable development among others.

The event attracted nearly 100 international guests, who are government representatives, industry experts, representatives of high-growth enterprises, technical experts and professional investors, from countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, South Korea, Mexico and Thailand.