AstraZeneca Opens Online Registration for the 3rd Commercial Innovation Partner Conference: Building an Open Healthcare Innovation Ecosystem with Cross-sector Partners

An Innovative Healthcare Ecosystem: A Key Focus for AstraZeneca in Recent YearsAstraZeneca is no longer content with its traditional pharmaceutical business. Instead, adopting a patient-centric approach, it collaborates with partners across various industries and disciplines to extend solutions throughout the entire diagnosis and treatment journey and associated services, thereby delivering precise, efficient, convenient, and accessible healthcare services to patients.

Since 2018, AstraZeneca has been hosting the Commercial Innovation Partner Conference, collaborating with partners across various industries to explore the development path of smart healthcare and jointly build an innovative medical ecosystem. Its core strategy can be summarized by two keywords: openness and collaboration. Previously, AstraZeneca had partnered with Tencent, Alibaba, and iFlytek to jointly create integrated diagnosis and treatment management systems; it also collaborated with AliHealth on pharmaceutical and healthcare services in areas such as chronic disease prevention and control, management, and artificial intelligence research and development.

It has been over a year since the last Commercial Innovation Partners Conference. During this period, how has AstraZeneca worked to build an innovative healthcare ecosystem? Which new partners have been signed, and what collaborative achievements have been made? By reviewing the new partners and collaborative projects launched by AstraZeneca during this time, we aim to analyze the company’s path of innovation.

To explore AstraZeneca’s innovation journey over the past year, VCBeat has compiled and reviewed the partners signed and collaborative projects launched by AstraZeneca between March 2019 and June 2020.

Compiled from public information; graphic by VCBeat

We have recorded that, during this period, AstraZeneca entered into collaborations with 26 companies and institutions.

FromPartner TypeAs can be seen, AstraZeneca collaborates with a diverse range of partners, not limited to any specific industry or type, including hospitals, government agencies, associations, enterprises, and capital firms. Among these, enterprises are the key focus of AstraZeneca’s partnerships, accounting for approximately 65% (17 companies) of all its partners.

Among the most significant collaborative initiatives during this period were the support for Wuxi in establishing the Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Park (I∙Campus) and the joint establishment of a Global Healthcare Industry Fund with CICC Capital. Both endeavors represent hallmark achievements by AstraZeneca in building a healthcare innovation ecosystem.

VCBeat analyzed the specific collaborative projects listed in the table and found that integrated diagnosis and treatment services are the focal point of these partnerships. In 2017, AstraZeneca officially launched patient-centered, whole-course solutions integrating diagnosis and treatment, leveraging its strengths in respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, oncology, and gastrointestinal diseases. To date, AstraZeneca has rolled out 14 innovative whole-course solutions integrating diagnosis and treatment.

We have decided to use AstraZeneca’s integrated diagnosis and treatment business as a case study to analyze how the company collaborates with enterprises, hospitals, and other stakeholders to jointly build an industrial ecosystem for integrated diagnosis and treatment.

FromDimensions of Partner EnterprisesFrom this perspective, we can categorize them into in vitro diagnostics companies, medical device companies, pharmaceutical distribution companies, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) Companiesis a key partner in AstraZeneca’s initiative to integrate oncology diagnosis and treatment. AstraZeneca’s strengths in cancer therapy are unquestionable; by collaborating with diagnostic companies, it can combine its therapeutic advantages with the testing and diagnostic expertise of these partners, thereby enabling precision oncology.

Medical Device CompaniesThe collaboration with AstraZeneca primarily focuses on respiratory, cardiovascular, metabolic, and gastrointestinal diseases. Currently, AstraZeneca has established the Smart Nebulization Center, the China Standardized Metabolic Disease Management Center (MMC), the China Chest Pain Center, and the Gastrointestinal Tumor Prevention and Treatment Center. Partnerships with two medical device companies can further enhance AstraZeneca’s integrated diagnosis and treatment services in these specialized areas.

AssociationThis is the key to whether integrated diagnosis and treatment centers can be rapidly implemented. The association can leverage AstraZeneca’s integrated diagnosis and treatment program to enhance local medical standards and economic strength. Additionally, through collaboration withGovernmentBy co-establishing an innovation park, AstraZeneca can identify more partners to create an integrated diagnosis-and-treatment closed loop. The park can also leverage AstraZeneca’s support in professional insights, strategic planning, global collaboration, and channel operations to attract more enterprises to settle in.

andCapitalEstablish a global healthcare industry fund through collaboration, leveraging the capital operation and investment management expertise of investment institutions, as well as AstraZeneca’s professional strengths in medical innovation, to successfully build the healthcare industry fund and strengthen ties with partners.

HospitalThis provides an implementation platform for AstraZeneca’s Integrated Diagnosis and Treatment Center. Meanwhile, the hospital can leverage the Center to enhance its diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities, thereby benefiting patients.

Overall, in AstraZeneca’s efforts to build an integrated diagnosis and treatment industrial ecosystem, the association can support the smooth implementation of integrated diagnosis and treatment projects; incubation platforms established in collaboration with the government can help AstraZeneca reach more potential partners; enterprises providing diagnostic technologies and instruments required for disease treatment can assist AstraZeneca in creating a closed-loop system for integrated diagnosis and treatment; hospitals serve as implementation platforms across China; and the establishment of industrial funds in partnership with capital entities can leverage investment and financing to foster closer relationships with partners.

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Recently, AstraZeneca announced the upcoming2020 AstraZeneca China Ecosystem Conference & The 3rd Business Innovation Partner Conferencenews. The conference will be held in Wuxi on June 21-22, 2020, with the theme of“Boundless · Co-Creation”Centered on the theme, bringing togetherOver 400 innovative enterprises, more than 600 leading figures from government, industry, academia, medicine, and investment sectors, and 50 top-tier investment institutionsAttending guests will jointly explore whole-course management solutions across various therapeutic areas, investigate innovative healthcare models empowered by new technologies and capital, and collaboratively build an innovation ecosystem.

The conference featured dedicated sessions on AstraZeneca’s commercial innovation, digital healthcare, and startup incubation and investment/financing. Attending companies can gain access to a broader range of medical application scenarios and digital marketing insights; secure collaboration opportunities with AstraZeneca’s various therapeutic area teams and digital marketing units; connect with 50 top-tier healthcare funds; and potentially establish operations in the innovation park jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the government, thereby benefiting from incubation acceleration services and industrial policy support. Interested companies may scanScan the QR code below on the poster to watch online!