Roche Terminates Strategic Collaboration with Chinese Diagnostics Firm DiAn for Portfolio Realignment

　　【Pharmaceutical Network Enterprise NewsRecently, it was reported that Roche, its holding company Foundation Medicine (FMI), and Chinese partner Dian Diagnostics Group Co., Ltd. have jointly decided to terminate their existing cooperation. This decision implies that the original parties will no longer be able to conduct genomic analysis and testing through their previous business model.
 

According to publicly available information, Dian Diagnostics Group, established in 2001, is a third-party medical diagnostics service provider with a core business in diagnostic service outsourcing. In April 2018, Roche announced that Roche and its holding company, Foundation Medicine, Inc., signed a cooperation agreement with Dian Diagnostics Group Co., Ltd. to jointly promote the process of personalized cancer treatment in China.
 

According to the relevant agreement, Dian Diagnostics Group will become the exclusive partner of Foundation Medicine, Inc. (FMI) for its comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) services in China's clinical market. Advanced genomic sequencing service products will be launched, and a Dian Precision Oncology Laboratory will be established to build a standardized full-process quality management system. The application of FMI’s FoundationOne, FoundationOne Heme, and FoundationACT products will be implemented in China (excluding Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan) to help cancer patients find appropriate treatment solutions.
 

Regarding the termination of this cooperation, Roche Pharmaceuticals stated that this decision was based on an overall consideration of the effectiveness of the existing operational model and business development. Notably, Roche has been highly active in the Chinese market this year. Previously, Roche had announced the establishment of a new China product pipeline strategy team. Meanwhile, Ms. Chen Xingrong, head of the company’s Transformation and Innovation Office, will also serve concurrently as the head of the China product pipeline strategy team. According to Roche Pharmaceuticals, the establishment of the China product pipeline strategy team is primarily aimed at strengthening Roche's overall strategic layout in China, fostering closer collaboration with the headquarters and all parties in the industry chain, and benefiting more patients in China.
 

The industry believes that in recent years, as Roche has continuously increased its attention on the Chinese market, it has been making frequent moves to maintain its continuous development in China. Currently, there are numerous instances of it strengthening cooperation with domestic companies and adjusting personnel structures. For example, regarding cooperation with domestic enterprises, on June 9th, Innovent Biologics announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Innovent Biologics (HK) Limited, had reached a strategic cooperation agreement with Roche Group. The two parties will mainly focus on researching, clinically developing, and commercializing multiple bispecific antibody and cell therapy products, which will be directly used for treating hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
 

In addition, regarding internal restructuring, it has been reported that since the beginning of this year, Chen Xingrong, head of the Transformation and Innovation Office, has also taken on the role of leading the China Product Pipeline Strategy Team. Furthermore, in July, Roche announced that Bian Xin, the current Vice President of Market Access at Roche Pharma China, will assume the position of President of Roche Pharma China following the departure of Zhou Hong on September 30.
 

The industry believes that, with the normalization and advancement of pharmaceutical policies such as bulk procurement, foreign pharmaceutical companies will face increasing pressure. To address this situation, it is expected that more pharmaceutical companies will choose to adjust their business structures in China.