Gaoji Healthcare and Gilead Sciences Forge Strategic Partnership to Enhance Out-of-Hospital Management and Disease Prevention in Anti-Infective Therapies

On January 12, 2023, Gaoji Medical and Gilead Sciences announced a strategic partnership. Representatives from both companies, including Mr. Li Bo, CEO of Gaoji Medical, and Mr. Jin Fangqian, Global Vice President and General Manager of China at Gilead Sciences, attended the signing ceremony. The two parties announced that they would deepen their cooperation in three areas—channel development, campaign operations, and accessibility of treatment regimens—by leveraging Gaoji Medical’s network of smart pharmacies, its integrated online-and-offline health management services, patient education initiatives, smart supply chain capabilities, and its internet-based “medical care + pharmaceuticals” model, as well as Gilead’s cutting-edge expertise and extensive experience in the prevention and treatment of multiple diseases. This collaboration aims to provide patients with end-to-end innovative solutions, support the improvement and optimization of disease management and prevention and control models in fields such as virology and oncology in China, and jointly contribute to achieving the grand vision of “Healthy China 2030.”

 Strategic Cooperation Signing Photo

From top to bottom and left to right: Mr. Jin Fangqian, Global Vice President and General Manager of China at Gilead Sciences; Mr. Li Bo, Chief Executive Officer of Gaoji Healthcare; Mr. Ma Dapeng, Senior Director of Business and Channel Management at Gilead Sciences; and Mr. Wang Legang, Senior Vice President of Internet Healthcare and Innovative Drugs Division at Gaoji Healthcare.

As a leading enterprise in pharmaceutical distribution and health services, Gaoji Medical continues to enhance its integrated “medical care + pharmaceuticals + health management” ecosystem. To date, Gaoji Medical has established a presence in over 300 prefecture-level cities across China, operating more than 10,000 chain pharmacies, hundreds of DTP (Direct-to-Patient) pharmacies, and dual-channel pharmacies. It has also built six self-operated internet hospitals to serve as entry points for primary healthcare and pharmaceutical services. By upgrading its service offerings through a digital product matrix that includes the Gaoji Internet Hospital mini-program and the Huimei Doctor APP, Gaoji Medical truly enables health services to reach out proactively, minimizing the need for consumers to travel.

“Gaoji Medical aims to strengthen integrated collaboration with Gilead in the prevention of infectious diseases such as HIV and liver disease, pre-hospital screening, tiered diagnosis and treatment, medication counseling, and Directly Observed Therapy (DOT) management, thereby achieving industry innovation in China’s infection prevention and control sector,” said Mr. Li Bo, CEO of Gaoji Medical. “As the primary point of access for patients within the locally accessible ‘health and life service circle,’ Gaoji Medical is committed to partnering with Gilead. Leveraging our nationwide channel advantages, we will engage ecosystem partners—including specialists, academic associations, and pharmaceutical manufacturers—to advance specialized care. We will deepen cooperation in pharmaceutical services, out-of-hospital patient management, physician education, public disease awareness, and patient education, jointly exploring new patient management models to improve patients’ quality of life and enhance public health.”

For many years, Gaoji Medical has supported global pharmaceutical innovators such as Gilead Sciences in establishing out-of-hospital distribution channels for their innovative drugs, thereby better meeting the whole-course disease management needs of patients across first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai, provincial capitals, second- and third-tier cities, and county-level markets. Currently, multiple DTP (Direct-to-Patient) specialty pharmacies operated by Gaoji Medical have obtained the “Specialty Drug Pharmacy Certification” issued by the China Pharmaceutical Commercial Association, enabling them to provide enhanced support for patients’ whole-course disease management.

Since its establishment in California, USA, in 1987, Gilead Sciences has continuously driven innovation through bold and transformative scientific exploration, achieving major breakthroughs once deemed impossible in the prevention and treatment of multiple diseases. In 2017, Gilead formally commenced commercial operations in China. Within just a few years, it has introduced nine first-in-class or globally leading drugs for the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV into the Chinese market, seven of which have been included in the National Reimbursement Drug List. By offering these medications at affordable prices, Gilead has helped millions of Chinese patients regain healthy lives. Furthermore, Gilead’s first oncology drug and first antifungal drug are poised for launch in China, signaling that while reinforcing its core strengths in virology, the company is aggressively expanding into new therapeutic areas such as oncology and mycology.

Mr. Jin Fangqian stated, “By consistently adhering to a ‘patient-centric’ approach, Gilead China will take the ‘first year of the post-pandemic era’ as a new starting point to accelerate the introduction of more global innovative therapies, expand its footprint across broader disease areas, and continue to drive rapid business growth in China, thereby serving more Chinese patients in need. Against the backdrop of the government’s call to ‘prioritize people’s health as a strategic development priority,’ we believe that through close collaboration with outstanding local partners such as Gaoyi Medical, we can jointly build a professional and high-quality healthcare service ecosystem and serve as steadfast guardians of public health.”

Mr. Wang Legang, Senior Vice President of the Internet Healthcare and Innovative Pharmaceuticals Division at Gaoji Health, stated, “We have already established in-depth cooperation with Gilead in the field of anti-infectives. This strategic agreement builds upon our existing partnership by extending collaboration across Gilead’s full portfolio, including innovative medicines. It will better integrate Gilead’s innovative R&D achievements in biopharmaceuticals with Gaoji Health’s extensive pharmacy network reaching the ‘last mile’ into communities, its digital capabilities, and its integrated online-to-offline pharmaceutical services. By connecting high-quality medical resources both inside and outside hospitals, we aim to jointly identify and address the unmet health needs of the general public.”

Diagnosis and treatment of diseases constitute a complex process. Factors such as the continuity of care after discharge, the convenience of follow-up visits and prescription renewals, the accessibility and affordability of new medications, and the effectiveness of follow-up monitoring all significantly influence patient prognosis. Therefore, it is particularly important for all stakeholders to collaborate in addressing the actual or potential challenges patients encounter across various scenarios, thereby meeting their genuine needs.

In recent years, Gaoji Health has established strategic partnerships with medical institutions at all levels and leading industry associations in the field of serious medical care, aiming to introduce more authoritative and professional medical resources to provide better services for patients. This includes signing an agreement with the Clinical Pharmacy Branch of the Chinese Medical Association to comprehensively support pharmaceutical science popularization activities and engage in deep cooperation on patient health management, electronic prescription review, and pharmacist training. Additionally, Gaoji Health has formed a strategic partnership with the CSCO Expert Committee on Cancer Nutritional Therapy to launch the China Cancer Patient Nutrition Care Program. By leveraging CSCO’s professional resources, Gaoji Health empowers its network of thousands of pharmacies and pharmacists to advance cancer prevention and education as well as coordinated patient management both inside and outside hospitals.

To strengthen comprehensive disease management for conditions such as viral infections and cancer, Gaoji Health and Gilead Sciences will engage in deep collaboration to provide standardized and convenient pharmaceutical and healthcare services to a broad patient population. Gilead will contribute its specialized expertise and innovative integrated diagnostic and therapeutic solutions in relevant disease areas, leveraging Gaoji Health’s extensive platform resources to enhance patients’ disease awareness and knowledge of innovative treatments. Furthermore, building on Gaoji Health’s industrial chain layout and aligning with the trend of prescription outflow from hospitals, both parties will effectively manage multi-channel outpatient distribution, thereby improving the accessibility and affordability of originator drugs.

Guided by their shared commitment to the “patient-centric” philosophy and close collaboration, as well as their professional resource investments in improving access to innovative medicines and healthcare services, Gaoji Medical and Gilead will join forces to leverage their respective strengths. Together, they will serve as “health gatekeepers” for the public and help propel China’s healthcare industry to new heights.