Multinational enterprises ink flurry of agreements

Multinational pharmaceutical companies at the ongoing third China International Import Expo are signing a flurry of collaboration agreements with Chinese digital health giants as part of their efforts to ride the country’s smart medical development wave.

Some of these collaborations are designed to provide full-cycle digital healthcare solutions for patients with multiple types of chronic diseases during the diagnosis, treatment and long-term disease management process, while others are intended to create innovative models of getting vaccinations.

Novartis Oncology, a unit of Swiss healthcare major Novartis, Servier China, a unit of the French pharmaceutical company Servier, and Pfizer, a US-based multinational pharmaceutical firm, inked collaboration agreements with Alibaba Health, a unit of ecommerce giant Alibaba, at the CIIE over the weekend.

The United States-based BristolMyers Squibb also signed a collaboration agreement with JD Health to establish a comprehensive, technology-driven platform for liver disease patients, from early diagnosis to longterm disease management.

The strategic cooperation between Novartis Oncology and Alibaba Health is aimed to build an innovative digital healthcare model that combines the former’s strength in precision medicine and the latter’s in digital technology, providing patient-centric, onestop services to cancer patients from online prescription, online drug purchase, medication compliance and payment, said Novartis Oncology officials.

“With shared vision and goals, we hope our strategic partnership will enable more convenient access to high-quality medical services for cancer patients through digital solutions, thereby improving their quality of life and alleviating the disease burden,” said Zhu Shunyan, chairman and CEO of Alibaba Health.

Servier China hopes to rely on the Alibaba Health Pharmacy Platform to carry out online education about chronic diseases to improve awareness about diseases and standard treatment, and to rely on Alibaba Health Online Hospital for follow-up medical services through the internet. The company said that in the next three years, both sides will continue to optimize processes and replicate online education and treatment programs for chronic diseases to more disease areas. The partnership may also explore e-commerce models, including debuting a therapy through the internet, to deliver medical products to a wider range of patients.

Pfizer’s cooperation with Alibaba Health focuses on building complete and full-chain vaccination service online. Pfizer will use the Alibaba Health platform to publicize information about vaccines and promote online closed-loop services. This includes education, consultation and making an appointment, said Pfizer officials.