Tencent and Novartis Join Forces to Revolutionize Digital Healthcare

On September 18, 2018, in Shanghai, VCBeat (WeChat Official Account: vcbeat) learned that Novartis Pharmaceuticals (China) (“Novartis”) and Tencent officially signed a strategic cooperation memorandum in Shanghai. The two parties will leverage their respective resource advantages in the pharmaceutical/healthcare and internet sectors, utilize advanced internet information technologies to empower medical innovation, and create a patient-value-oriented innovative model for digital healthcare services. Ms. Zhang Ying, President of Novartis Pharmaceuticals (China), and Mr. Zhang Meng, Vice President of Tencent Healthcare, attended the ceremony on behalf of their respective companies and signed the strategic cooperation memorandum.

Launch Ceremony of the Strategic Partnership Between Novartis (China) and Tencent

Under the Strategic Cooperation Memorandum, both parties will join forces to explore groundbreaking integration between the healthcare sector and internet technology. They will initiate pilot programs in areas such as drug traceability, medication services, disease management, and medical science popularization, aiming to co-create practical, innovative models for patient services and gradually promote integrated health management that is comprehensive and covers the entire life cycle. Furthermore, the two parties will jointly explore and advance the informatization, digitalization, and intelligent transformation of healthcare, improve patients’ medical consultation processes and experiences, and investigate the application of big data and artificial intelligence technologies in clinical diagnosis and treatment, disease monitoring, and scientific research, thereby collectively promoting balanced and adequate development in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare is a critical issue concerning national welfare and people’s livelihood. Since the release of the “Healthy China 2030” planning outline at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the population’s health status and health literacy have steadily improved. Nevertheless, China’s healthcare sector continues to face challenges from societal and industrial perspectives: the aging population trend is intensifying, and the prevention, control, and management of chronic diseases remain severe; pseudoscience, fragmented content, and covert marketing online hinder users’ access to authoritative and useful medical information; “information silos” persist in the healthcare field, and the efficiency of social medical services needs further enhancement. These issues urgently require collaborative efforts across all sectors of society to break down industry barriers and address them jointly. The cross-industry collaboration between Novartis Pharmaceuticals (China) and Tencent is poised to provide a novel exploratory model for the rapidly growing “digital healthcare” sector.

Novartis boasts a robust product portfolio in China, spanning multiple therapeutic areas including central nervous system disorders, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, metabolism, ophthalmology, respiratory conditions, and transplantation and immunology. The company remains committed to leveraging innovation to address the most challenging public health issues. Tencent is dedicated to advancing the application of digital technologies in healthcare, holding significant promise for promoting balanced development, equitable access to medical services, and precision medicine. Digital technologies such as mobile internet, big data, and artificial intelligence have effectively enhanced the informatization, connectivity, and intelligence of the healthcare industry.

In light of the unmet health needs of the general public, this collaboration will initially focus on cardiovascular disease, the leading health threat in China. Leveraging Tencent’s newly launched online medication scanning platform embedded within the WeChat social ecosystem, and utilizing innovative WeChat Mini Programs as the delivery vehicle, the partnership aims to introduce a lightweight, systematic, and personalized medication management service model. Through this WeChat Mini Program, patients can access a range of services provided by Tencent, including drug traceability, comprehensive patient education on relevant disease areas, and personalized health guidance and medication reminders through self-configured settings. This initiative is designed to enable more Chinese patients with cardiovascular diseases to derive sustained benefits from innovative therapies.

At the signing ceremony, Ms. Zhang Ying, President of Novartis China, stated: “Novartis’s mission is to discover new ways to improve patients’ quality of life and extend human longevity. As a global innovation leader in the pharmaceutical industry, Novartis drives innovation not only in medicines and therapies but also in business models and mindsets. Novartis is advancing its ‘Digital Strategy’ worldwide, and this inaugural collaboration with Tencent represents a significant step in implementing our ‘Digital Health’ strategy in China. Tencent brings extensive experience in internet products, broad communication channels, and outstanding innovative technological capabilities. We believe that the strategic partnership between Novartis and Tencent will deliver greater health benefits to patients in China and contribute our expertise and insights to the ‘Internet Plus’ transformation of the local healthcare industry.”

Mr. Zhang Meng, Vice President of Tencent Healthcare, stated, “Tencent has always prioritized corporate social responsibility, which serves as the foundation for our products and services, particularly in the healthcare sector. We are continuously striving to ensure that the convenience brought to healthcare by the internet and technology is tangible, visible, and perceptible to the general public. Novartis not only boasts profound expertise in innovative drug development and disease research but also remains at the global forefront of digital innovation in pharmaceuticals. Tencent aims to serve as a ‘digital assistant’ to the healthcare industry, collaborating with global pharmaceutical innovation leaders like Novartis to build an ecosystem for healthcare and wellness, thereby supporting healthcare reform and the digital transformation of the healthcare and wellness industry.”