Agilent and Pingsheng Medical Deepen Strategic Collaboration to Establish a Benchmark for Mass Spectrometry in Multi-Omics Applications
After years of development, China’s clinical mass spectrometry industry is in a period of explosive growth. In 2022, multi-omics and high performance became hot topics, regarded as the new growth drivers for the next stage of the industry.
Focusing on the New Opportunities for Clinical Mass Spectrometry in China Over the Next Five Years,On September 15, 2022, the unveiling ceremony of the China Precision Medicine Innovation Center, jointly established by Agilent and Pinsheng Medical, along with the signing ceremony for their strategic cooperation, was officially held.The two parties will leverage the “Agilent-Pinsheng Medical China Precision Medicine Innovation Center” as a platform to expand collaboration on high-end liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) systems, accelerating the localized production and clinical adoption of clinical mass spectrometry instruments and reagents.
As early as 2020, Agilent and Pingsheng Medical had already established their first strategic partnership. Building on this collaboration, Pingsheng Medical successfully developed an integrated clinical mass spectrometry solution encompassing omics research, mass spectrometry instruments, in vitro diagnostic reagents, and third-party medical testing services. The company’s Qlife Lab 9000 series triple quadrupole mass spectrometry system has received regulatory approval for market launch, with over 500 clinical mass spectrometry test items offered and partnerships established with more than 500 hospitals.
Chen Liang, Vice President of Agilent Technologies and General Manager for Greater China, stated, “It is not new for Chinese clinical mass spectrometry companies to collaborate with overseas life science instrument giants. At this stage, most Chinese clinical mass spectrometry enterprises rely on imported high-performance instruments to conduct clinical testing and provide technical services. The collaboration between Agilent and Pingsheng Medical follows this model while also introducing upgrades. Both parties will explore effective pathways to successfully implement mass spectrometry analysis in clinical settings, jointly venturing into the vast blue ocean of clinical diagnostics.”
Cheng Xiaoliang, Chairman of Pinsheng Medical, stated, “This marks a further deepening of the strategic partnership between Agilent and Pinsheng Medical. The two parties will engage in deeper collaboration across multiple dimensions, including mass spectrometry hardware, clinical applications, and market promotion, to provide more robust, multi-dimensional, and comprehensive clinical mass spectrometry solutions, with a particular focus on developing specialized tests based on proteomics and metabolomics. Leveraging its technical expertise and market advantages in multi-omics, Pinsheng Medical will drive innovation in clinical mass spectrometry applications through multi-omics technologies.”
Multi-omics holds immense potential in elucidating pathogenic mechanisms, screening for disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets, as well as advancing early diagnosis and treatment. Currently, proteomics and metabolomics have achieved multiple significant breakthroughs overseas.
Dr. Cheng Xiaoliang emphasized, “The rigid demand in clinical disease diagnosis is to provide patients with individualized precision diagnosis and treatment at the protein and metabolic levels,”To truly realize precision medicine, it is essential to prioritize the proteomics and metabolomics enabled by mass spectrometry technology and to advance toward multi-omics integration.”
In recent years, the application of multi-omics in China’s precision medicine sector has accelerated significantly, whether viewed from the clinical or policy perspective.Multi-omics technologies are now poised to flourish in China’s clinical testing market., clinical medicine is rapidly transitioning toward multi-omics integrated analysis.
Pinsheng Medical has accumulated years of expertise in multi-omics research, independently developing and establishing a leading proteomics and metabolomics research platform. This platform enables both targeted and untargeted clinical omics studies, supporting the discovery of novel biomarkers as well as the validation and translation of innovative clinical diagnostic applications. The company has built a pipeline of multiple potential blockbuster specialized testing products in fields such as maternal and child health, oncology, endocrinology/cardiovascular disease, neurology, and metabolism, and is currently at the cusp of industrial commercialization.
It is worth noting that for general screening tests, mainstream mass spectrometers are sufficient. However,Multi-omics Specialized Testing Places Higher Demands on Instrument Performance, prompting Pinsheng Medical and Agilent to engage in in-depth collaboration on high-end mass spectrometry to accelerate the commercial implementation of multi-omics applications.
“Our collaboration with Agilent on the first instrument in 2020 opened a window of opportunity. Driven by the needs of multi-omics applications, Pingsheng Medical will collaborate with Agilent on more advanced hardware, such as high-performance mass spectrometers. In the future, we will even explore cooperation in application development and technical services,” said Dr. Cheng Xiaoliang.
“Currently, clinical mass spectrometry is still generally at the level of ordinary resolution. Clinical demands for the performance of mass spectrometers are continuously increasing. In the field of mass spectrometry, Agilent offers a wide range of models that can consistently meet the high requirements of multi-omics clinical applications for mass spectrometry platforms,” said Chen Liang.
According to VCBeat’s calculations, the overall market size of clinical mass spectrometry in China exceeded RMB 10 billion in 2021. With the increasing penetration rate of routine clinical applications and the introduction of more emerging items and technological platforms into clinical practice—such as endocrine hormones, catecholamines, pediatric medications, trace elements, pharmacogenomics, and toxicology analysis—the Chinese clinical mass spectrometry market is poised for rapid growth, with the potential to evolve into a blue-ocean market worth RMB 100 billion.
To date, the increased clinical recognition of mass spectrometry testing and the stronger demand for it are evident changes.Whether a complete clinical mass spectrometry solution can be provided to the laboratory department is the core factor determining clinical acceptance of mass spectrometry,This includes laboratory design, hardware and reagent implementation, commercialization presentations, and after-sales services. Pinsheng Medical has not only built a comprehensive solution but also offers equipment that is more compact, user-friendly, and capable of detecting a wider range of indicators. In this vast market, Pinsheng Medical has already gained a first-mover advantage.
Furthermore, declining equipment prices and increasing levels of automation are key trends in the development of clinical mass spectrometry. Moving forward, one of the differentiating competitive factors in the clinical mass spectrometry industry lies in multi-omics specialized testing services.Companies need to rely on mass spectrometry equipment with higher resolution and sensitivity to conduct research on more complex diseases, thereby expanding the clinical mass spectrometry market. This aligns precisely with the future strategic direction of collaboration between Agilent and Pinsheng Medical.
Dr. Cheng Xiaoliang stated, “Agilent’s solid technical accumulation, pragmatic style, and professional, focused philosophy align closely with Pinsheng Medical, paving the way for more extensive and in-depth collaboration in the future.”
Chen Liang stated, “China is Agilent’s fastest-growing and most promising market. Comprehensive localization has long been a core strategy for Agilent, and our partnership with Pisheng Medical represents a significant component of this localized approach. Furthermore, the successful collaboration with Pisheng Medical reinforces Agilent’s confidence in deepening its presence in the Chinese market. In the clinical mass spectrometry sector, Agilent has been navigating uncharted waters. Leveraging Pisheng Medical’s robust clinical resources and localization capabilities, our partnership delivers a highly professional and stable mass spectrometry platform while providing high-quality services to clinical settings. We look forward to expanding our collaboration to conduct more cutting-edge research and deliver more accurate clinical mass spectrometry solutions.”