Sanofi China Embraces the New Era of Digital Healthcare Transformation

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe accelerated the digital transformation of the global healthcare industry, giving rise to numerous new development opportunities. As one of the first multinational pharmaceutical companies to venture into digital health, Sanofi has continued to strengthen its presence in China, actively exploring how to build a digital innovation ecosystem that aligns with the country’s current healthcare needs.

IoT devices, NLP (Natural Language Processing), AI (Artificial Intelligence), and big data-driven medical knowledge graphs—these are just a few examples of how the digital transformation of the healthcare industry is increasingly converging with cutting-edge technologies. The future of digital health technology is being continuously reshaped. “What Sanofi aims to do is seize this era’s opportunities to provide patients with more efficient and innovative treatments,” said Dr. Henry He, President of Sanofi Greater China.

To aggregate more innovative thinking and embrace the digital healthcare industry revolution in the new era, Sanofi China has held the DREAM AND GO Innovation Summit for two consecutive years. Initiated by Mr. Heath Chiensheng Ho, President of Sanofi Greater China, the summit serves as an open platform to showcase the company’s latest achievements in digital healthcare technology innovation. Since its inception two years ago, the Sanofi “Dream And Go” Innovation Summit has invited over 500 startups and leading figures from various industries, including more than 400 investors and over 80 innovation leaders.

On November 18, 2021, Sanofi China will host the 3rd DREAM AND GO Innovation Summit.

According to the official introduction, this year’s summit will bring together hundreds of startups, investors, and industry leaders for in-depth discussions on topics that have garnered significant public attention in the post-pandemic era, including digital therapeutics (DTx), internet hospitals, early disease screening, and user-centric technology, with the aim of fostering intellectual exchange and stimulating innovation.

With the advent of the post-pandemic era, digital therapeutics, as a health solution leveraging digital technologies for disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care, undoubtedly plays an increasingly important role in patient management and clinical diagnosis and treatment. Meanwhile, healthcare digitalization is regarded as a key driver advancing the reform of China’s healthcare system. Coupled with the onset of an aging society, digital therapeutics are poised to make significant contributions in the field of patient rehabilitation and long-term care.

Sanofi has consistently engaged in active collaborations with startups and experts in the field of digital therapeutics, jointly exploring more efficient and innovative treatment approaches for patients through cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and software-enabled solutions. At this year’s summit, Sanofi has invited several outstanding startups in this sector, such as Shukang, Good Sleep, and Weimai, aiming to share the latest industry insights and experiences from seasoned professionals with aspiring young talents and enterprises navigating this field, thereby supporting their rapid growth.

Beyond digital therapeutics, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has also ushered in a renaissance for internet hospitals. Certain aspects of hospital diagnosis and treatment have shifted online, ranging from appointment scheduling and consultation on test results to basic diagnosis and medication dispensing and collection. The organic integration of internet hospitals and digital therapeutics has not only alleviated pressure on the healthcare system but also established a closed-loop diagnosis and treatment model in certain areas of chronic disease management.

Internet-based healthcare enables rapid matching of online and offline medical resources, while the integration of digital therapeutics opens up broad possibilities for the future care of patients with chronic diseases. With breakthroughs in medical informatization and big data technology, internet hospitals have evolved from a conceptual framework to practical implementation, providing patients with a more convenient and trustworthy integrated diagnosis and treatment experience. It is understood that this summit will also present industry experts’ outlook on the future of internet hospitals, as well as Sanofi’s insights into this field.

Discussing the digital transformation of the entire healthcare industry, Xia Wenrong, Director of Innovation and Digital Transformation at Sanofi China’s Digital Department, pointed out that digital transformation has become a key strategic focus for many pharmaceutical companies in recent years. As part of this broader trend, pharmaceutical companies must not only continue to develop new drugs but also continuously enhance patients’ experiences in seeking medical advice, obtaining medications, and managing their health online.

Meanwhile, in addition to penetrating the field of chronic disease management, technological advancements are also being leveraged to explore solutions for early screening and prevention. Many diseases have a latent period; for such conditions, how can big data, artificial intelligence, and other technologies be utilized to enable effective early screening and preventive interventions before clinical symptoms manifest, thereby improving cure rates and overall patient health? This topic will be one of the key discussions at this year’s Sanofi Innovation Summit. Sanofi hopes to engage more industry professionals to share their insights and help drive further progress in this area.