News of the newspaper (Reporter: He Wenwei) On November 2, the "BioTianfu·CAS 2018 Forum on Life Science and Technology Industry Development & 25th Jinqiao Industrial Technology Innovation Conference", hosted by Chengdu High Investment Biological Medicine Park Management Co., Ltd. (Tianfu Life Science Park), Shanghai Academy of Science & Technology, Chengdu Library and Information Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Shanghai Industrial Technology Institute, was held in Chengdu Hi-tech Zone. Coming with the theme "Healthy China--Big Data and Precision Medicine", the forum brought together experts, scholars, and enterprise representatives from Shanghai and Chengdu to exchange ideas on big data and life health management, the industrial development and investment of precision medicine, and other topics.

At the forum, the Chengdu Biomedical Technology Cooperation Center, co-built by Shanghai Academy of Science & Technology, Shanghai Industrial Technology Institute, and Tianfu Life Science Park, was inaugurated. The Center will focus on frontier technologies like biomedical big data, gene sequencing, precision medicine, and AI image recognition.

"Shanghai and Chengdu have extensive cooperation in biomedicine. After the establishment of the Center, based on information sharing, we will harness the distinctive strength of Shanghai Industrial Technology Institute in gene sequencing, big data, stem cell, and other aspects." According to Shen Yuedong, Director of the Strategic Consulting Center of Shanghai Industrial Technology Institute, the Strategic Consulting Center can use the Chengdu Biomedical Technology Cooperation Center to launch technical projects and talent training, and build a hub for achievement transformation and talent flow, so as to boost biomedicine development in Chengdu Hi-tech Zone and the whole Chengdu.

"Chengdu Biomedical Technology Cooperation Center is charged with the mission of focusing on frontier life sciences and industrial development, leveraging on its strength to facilitate the application and transformation of life science R&D results, and promote technical innovation and integrated industrial development," said Shen Yuedong. Going forward, the two sides will work together to build a professional exchange platform for life science research institutions, medical service agencies, medicine R&D enterprises, and IT R&D agencies.

According to Wan Xiang, Deputy General Manager of Tianfu Life Science Park, the establishment of Chengdu Biomedical Technology Cooperation Center will facilitate enterprises in the Park in going global, and also offer a convenient platform for outstanding enterprises to enter Chengdu Hi-tech Zone and the whole Chengdu. It will go a long way to the biological industry development in Chengdu Hi-tech Zone and even the health and medicine program in China.


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Digital health should target at precision medicine


Yang Shengli, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering


At the forum, Yang Shengli, an academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a speech themed "digital health", "Digital health means integrating comprehensive big data of biological information and intelligent medicine. To realize the shift from big data to intelligent medicine, we have to rely on the driving power of physiome and digital medicine." In the future, "big data" will function as the most basic resources, just like mine field in the Era of Industrial Revolution, said Yang Shengli. Various platforms of physiome, wearable sensors, and clinic can be used to acquire data of physiology and pathology, based on which large databases for individuals and groups can be built. In this way, medical capability can be enhanced through data mining, simulation, and modeling.

"If you ask me, I would say that the more practical goal of digital health is to realize precision medicine and enhance diagnosis and treatment capabilities." According to Yang Shengli, another key point is to take a patient-centered approach and combine personalized medicine, precision medicine, and holistic medicine. "Digital health means doctors using big data and digital health network to gain an overall understanding of patients, to ensure a better integration of treatment model and working process on one hand, and patient health management on the other, so as to realize a patient-centered treatment model in a real sense." In the eyes of Yang Shengli, a good doctor should not only cure certain diseases, but also offer holistic, systematic treatment to patients, and carry out digital medicine and precision medicine in community system.

Accession to ICH means more opportunities than challenges, pharmaceutical companies should bring more talents


Zhang Dan, Executive Chairman of FMD K&L


Last year, China joined The International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH). What is the significance of joining the ICH, and what impact will it have on China's medicine industry, and what opportunities and challenges it will bring? As for those, Zhang Dan, Executive Chairman of FMD K&L, delivered a keynote speech titled "China's medicine development strategy under the ICH environment". In the eyes of Zhang Dan, ICH is a standard medicine registration format among member states, and will enable countries to realize integrated standardization of medicine supervision system, and make them all follow the same methods and approval procedures, so as to realize faster mutual certification for products of ICH member states.

 He also noted that in short terms, China's accession to ICH may pose some challenges to many enterprises, even get them knocked out, especially for those with poor R&D capability and relying on generic drug. "The accession of ICH opens China to the outside world. For foreign innovative drugs, as long as they meet the requirements of ICH, they will soon enter Chinese market, which will shock pharmaceutical companies that engage in generic drug R&D."

In Zhang Dan's view, the accession of ICH means more opportunities than challenges, particularly for enterprises engaging in innovative drugs. They will move faster in going global and in pursuing innovation on global stage. Meanwhile, he also pointed out that when it comes to the recruitment of R&D talents, it is not enough to only recruit Chinese-speaking ones, but should recruit more of international talents, "As far as I know, currently, there is no approved Chinese innovative drug that has entered any ICH country, while 85% of American new drugs have entered other countries, which means a huge gap. In terms of talent recruitment, the state and enterprises should not only focus on Chinese-speaking ones. The number of Chinese-speaking researchers who engage in clinical development and international registration is very small. Therefore, greater efforts should be made to bring more international talents, an issue which should be put high on the agenda."

Reporter: He Wenwei