Boston Scientific and CCI Establish Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Innovation

Shanghai, June 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Recently, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX), in partnership with the China Cardiovascular Physicians Innovation Club (CCI), jointly established the "Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Innovation," an innovation exchange and incubation platform in the cardiovascular field. This initiative aims to fully leverage both parties' strengths in clinical innovation and technology translation, truly achieving industry collaborative incubation that is "rooted in clinical practice and serving clinical needs," accelerating the promotion and application of innovative technologies to benefit more patients in China.

The China Cardiovascular Innovators Club (CCI) was initiated by Academician Ge Junbo and co-founded by Academician Gao Runlin along with nine other renowned cardiovascular specialists in China. Centered on “innovation,” the club integrates innovative training, design exchanges, research support, and industry collaboration to help Chinese cardiovascular physicians enhance their professional value. This partnership aims to combine the CCI’s cutting-edge academic concepts and clinical innovation needs with Boston Scientific’s capability to translate innovations into practical solutions, thereby facilitating the incubation and implementation of clinical innovation projects in the cardiovascular field. The goal is to establish a true closed-loop ecosystem that spans from “creative ideas” to “commercialization.”

The Current Landscape of Cardiovascular Disease Remains Severe; The Path to Innovation Is Long and Arduous

With the accelerating pace of population aging and urbanization in China, the prevalence and mortality rates of cardiovascular disease continue to rise. Data show that there are currently approximately 290 million people with cardiovascular disease in China, and its mortality rate ranks first, accounting for more than 40% of all disease-related deaths among residents.¹, has become a public health issue that seriously threatens the health of residents in China, and it is imperative to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Professor Ge Junbo, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of the Department of Cardiology at Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, and Chairman of the China Cardiovascular Doctors Innovation Club (CCI), stated, “The innovative development of cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment technologies in China must be clinician-led and centered on genuine clinical needs. Through the platform of the Center for Excellence in Cardiovascular Innovation, we aim to empower more clinicians to ‘ground their work in scientific research and pioneer innovation,’ jointly fostering the vigorous growth of China’s cardiovascular health enterprise.””

Infusing Innovation into Cardiovascular Care to Effectively Translate Research into Practice

As a global leader in interventional cardiology, Boston Scientific has leveraged its professional expertise in recent years to collaborate with industry stakeholders in building a comprehensive healthcare ecosystem. By advancing innovation, talent development, professional education, and infrastructure, the company contributes to the realization of the “Healthy China” initiative.

Since 2013, Boston Scientific has established the Innovation Training Academy to provide interdisciplinary professional training and academic exchange opportunities for cardiovascular clinicians in China, helping them master cutting-edge disease treatment technologies and reserve more high-quality talent for the field of cardiovascular disease in China. In 2016, Boston Scientific signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the China Cardiovascular Health Alliance, focusing on three areas: Belt and Road Initiative cardiac intervention training, county-level grassroots cardiovascular intervention training, and chest pain center construction. Tailored training programs were developed to meet the diverse needs of clinical physicians, aiming to maximize the improvement of diagnosis and treatment levels and efficiency for cardiovascular diseases. In 2018, Boston Scientific joined forces with the Technology Transfer Institute of Tsinghua University to create the “T3 Innovation Hub,” an Asia-Pacific medical technology innovation base. This initiative fosters communication and collaboration among industry, academia, research, and healthcare through an open innovation environment, incubating excellent ideas into innovative medical solutions to meet the evolving needs of Chinese patients.

The establishment of the China Center of Excellence in Cardiovascular Innovation will fully leverage the strengths of both parties, integrating global resources with local expertise to accelerate the incubation and commercial translation of clinical technological innovations. In the future, Boston Scientific’s T3 Hub will provide continuous resource support to the Center of Excellence in Cardiovascular Innovation across areas such as industry market analysis, research and development, and regulatory registration. This collaboration aims to transform ideas from frontline physicians into new medical technologies that improve clinical practice and benefit patients, thereby propelling China’s cardiovascular field away from imitation, toward innovation, and onto the global stage.

“In 2019, Boston Scientific Corporation celebrated its 40th anniversary. Over the past four decades, we have remained true to our original mission of ‘Innovating for Life’ and continued to move forward without pause. This collaboration is grounded in the shared vision of Boston Scientific and CCI, aiming to bring innovative concepts and technologies to benefit clinical practice,” said Ms. Zhang Jun, Vice President and General Manager of Greater China at Boston Scientific. “Looking ahead, Boston Scientific will continue to work hand in hand with partners across the industry ecosystem to jointly accelerate the translation and implementation of local innovations, support the leapfrog development of cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment in China, and pool innovative strengths for the building of a Healthy China.”

¹Hu Shengshou、Gao Runlin、Liu Lisheng et al.，Summary of the Report on Cardiovascular Diseases in China 2018 [J]. Chinese Circulation Journal, March 2019, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Total No. 249)