Innovators in Future Healthcare: 2021 China Smart Diagnostics Medical List Announced
On January 9, 2022, under the guidance of the Shanghai Baoshan District Science and Technology Commission and the Administrative Committee of Shanghai Baoshan High-Tech Industrial Park, the “2021 Smart Diagnostics Achievement Transformation and Industrial Innovation Forum,” hosted by the Baoshan Smart Diagnostics Medical R&D and Translation Functional Platform and VCBeat VB100, and organized by HistoMed N-Media, was held in Baoshan District, Shanghai.
Spanning three months, the selection process involved joint evaluation by an academic expert panel and an industry jury composed of investors, drawing from 221 applicant institutions across China. With government endorsement and participant support, the inaugural “2021 China Smart Diagnostics Medicine List” was finalized, comprising three sub-lists that highlight 30 of the most representative and high-growth innovative enterprises in the smart diagnostics sector across three fields.
On that day, a forum themed “Embracing the New Digital Economy, Pioneering the New Future of Healthcare” was grandly held. The forum focused on the challenges and opportunities facing the development of smart diagnostics in the context of digital transformation, providing a platform for exchange and collaboration among government, industry, healthcare providers, academia, and research institutions in the smart diagnostics sector.
At the conference, Liu Huibin, Director of the Administrative Committee of Shanghai Baoshan High-Tech Industrial Park, delivered a speech, extending warm welcome and sincere gratitude to all industry experts who participated in and supported the event. Director Liu pointed out that Baoshan District in Shanghai is championing the “Sci-Tech Innovation Baoshan” initiative, comprehensively promoting high-quality development of emerging industries, focusing on smart and digital construction, and actively advancing R&D and the translation of technological achievements. Through the “One Evaluation, One Ranking, One Conference” framework, the district is committed to establishing smart diagnostics as a distinctive hallmark of Baoshan and positioning the “Smart Medical Diagnostics Forum and Rankings” as a major industry event and annual summit. Meanwhile, Director Liu expressed his welcome to outstanding entrepreneurs in the smart diagnostics sector to innovate and start businesses in Baoshan District, Shanghai. He affirmed that Baoshan District will spare no effort to provide high-quality services and foster a favorable environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, ensuring that all entrepreneurs can “find happiness, achieve success, and realize their dreams” in this vibrant land of Baoshan.
At the “2021 Smart Diagnostics Achievement Transformation and Industrial Innovation Forum,” Liu Jianzhong, Director of the Baoshan District Science and Technology Commission; Liu Huibin, Director of the Administrative Committee of Baoshan High-Tech Industrial Park; Shi Minghong, Director of the Baoshan District Economic Commission; and Leng Weiwei, Deputy Director of the Baoshan District Science and Technology Innovation Commission (District Investment Promotion Office), jointly unveiled the emblem for the “2021 China Smart Diagnostics Medicine List” and announced that Shanghai’s Baoshan District would serve as the permanent venue for the release of the China Smart Diagnostics Medicine List.
From left to right: Director Shi Minghong, Director Liu Huibin, Director Liu Jianzhong, Deputy Director Leng Weiwei
The final list of honored companies was jointly selected by an expert review panel, comprising authoritative figures such as Professor Ding Xianting, Director of the Molecular and Nanomedicine Platform and Executive Vice Dean of the Institute for Personalized Medicine at the School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and Dr. Yi Xianghua, President of the Pathologists Branch of the Shanghai Medical Doctor Association and Director of the Department of Pathology at Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, along with an industry review panel consisting of CDH Investments, Yuanyi Capital, Detong Capital, Kangqiao Capital, and Hengqin Financial Investment.
The jury selected Chinese innovators in healthcare who truly represent the future of intelligent diagnostic medicine from among domestic non-listed companies, identifying the core forces driving China’s future intelligent diagnostic medicine industry, promoting innovative transformation within the sector, and supporting scientific research exploration and clinical medical practice.
(Awards Ceremony for the Ranking List)
This year’s ranking selected three hot sectors within the field of smart diagnostics to evaluate listed companies, namely “High-End Medical Imaging Equipment,” “Digital Intelligent Auxiliary Diagnosis,” and “Innovative In Vitro Diagnostics—High-Throughput Sequencing.” Based on clinical practical application and capital attention, and supplemented by considerations of media focus, annual performance data heat of healthcare enterprises, and future industry development prospects, a total of 30 most representative and high-growth innovative enterprises in the field of smart diagnostics for 2021 were finally selected across these three areas. Mr. Ding Xianting, Professor at the School of Biomedical Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Director of the Molecular and Nanomedicine Platform, and Executive Vice Dean of the Institute of Personalized Medicine; Tang Feng, Director of the Department of Pathology at Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University and Director of the Standardized Residency Training Base at Shanghai Huashan Hospital; and Mr. Yi Xianghua, President of the Pathologists Branch of the Shanghai Medical Doctor Association and Director of the Department of Pathology at Tongji Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, served as award presenters, conferring awards upon representatives of the innovative enterprises listed on the “2021 China Smart Diagnostic Medicine Ranking.”
The development level of high-end medical imaging reflects, to a certain extent, a nation’s proficiency in medical technology. As a critical scientific basis for disease diagnosis, medical imaging provides intuitive visualization of pathological conditions when integrated with patients’ clinical symptoms and other auxiliary examinations, playing an irreplaceable role in achieving accurate diagnoses. It assists clinicians in formulating appropriate treatment plans, establishing the basis for staged therapy, and evaluating therapeutic efficacy, while also serving a vital function in post-treatment follow-up observations and monitoring.
Medical big data is the foundation of healthcare digitalization. Without the intervention of digital technologies, it is difficult to fully unlock the value embedded in medical big data through manual methods alone. Since 2015, China has successively introduced a series of policies to promote the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector, playing a pivotal and guiding role in the application and implementation of AI in disease diagnosis and treatment. By leveraging AI’s efficient learning capabilities and precise decision-making recommendations based on data analysis and processing, clinicians can be effectively assisted in keeping pace with disease progression and addressing clinical challenges with greater proficiency and ease.
In the current era, where precision medicine is flourishing, molecular diagnostics are playing an increasingly important role due to their unique advantages. Moreover, as the biochemical diagnostics market approaches saturation, molecular diagnostics are poised to become the next major investment hotspot, ushering in a period of rapid growth. Next-generation sequencing (NGS), as a revolutionary technology, has evolved rapidly over the years. Capable of simultaneously detecting multiple genetic loci, NGS has gradually transitioned from a niche research tool to clinical application. It demonstrates significant advantages in tumor companion diagnostics and holds prominent strengths in various fields such as liquid biopsy and tumor genetic testing, with its clinical value now widely recognized.
Thereafter, the “Forum on Transformation of Smart Diagnostic Achievements and Industrial Innovation” will be held annually in Baoshan District, Shanghai, concurrently with the release of the “China Smart Diagnostic Medicine List,” so as to promote the continuous development of China’s smart diagnostics industry and drive the innovative integration of industry, academia, research, and application across the entire value chain of the smart diagnostics field.