Yixu Medical Aims to Build China's Own Hypertension Genomic Database

On November 6, 2016, the “2016 China Rehabilitation Technology Innovation and Industry Development Forum & The Third Member Representative Congress of the China Association for Promotion of Rehabilitation Technology Transformation and Development,” hosted by the China Association for Promotion of Rehabilitation Technology Transformation and Development, was successfully convened. Centered on the theme “Focusing on Healthy China and Promoting Innovative Industries,” the conference featured one main forum and eleven sub-forums.

To further explore the pathways and trends in the translation and application of innovative precision medicine technologies in the field of hypertension, the “Sub-forum on Precision Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension” was organized by Beijing Yixu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. The forum brought together numerous renowned experts in the industry to jointly discuss individualized precision prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases. By integrating new medical service models such as internet-based healthcare and physician groups, the forum aimed to achieve health monitoring and disease course follow-up for patients with chronic hypertension, clarify preventive measures, guide personalized medication, reduce medical costs, and improve the quality of care. Meanwhile, the China Association for Promotion of Rehabilitation Technology Translation and Development and Beijing Yixu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. held a launch ceremony for the “100,000-Person Gene Cohort Project for Precision Prevention and Treatment of Hypertension,” introducing a free genetic sequencing initiative to assess hypertension risk in 100,000 individuals. 

Ms. Yan Wei, Secretary-General of the China Association for the Promotion of Rehabilitation Technology Translation and Development, stated that this project is built upon core products for precision medication gene sequencing in hypertension. By enabling personalized medication to improve treatment adherence, it enhances therapeutic efficiency and medication efficacy during the initial diagnosis phase for hypertensive patients, shortens the trial-and-error period for medication adjustment, and thereby benefits the general public. Furthermore, the project helps reduce ineffective medication use, supporting healthcare insurance cost containment; integrates intelligent testing with internet-based healthcare; establishes a closed-loop service system for chronic disease management; improves the primary care ecosystem for chronic diseases; and ultimately enhances the health and quality of life of the population.

Zhang Yanwei, founder of Yixu Medical, delivered a keynote speech on “The Application of NGS Technology in Personalized Precision Medication for Hypertension.” He provided a detailed introduction to the advantages of the company’s core technologies in terms of data quality, performance parameters, R&D speed, and cost. Furthermore, he elaborated on the feasibility of industrializing the “Precision Medication for Hypertension” genetic testing kit and establishing a Chinese pharmacogenomic database for hypertension.

Professor Hu, Chief Scientist at Yixu Medical, Researcher at the Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Director of the Key Laboratory of Genomic Science and Information, delivered a presentation titled “Application of Omics Technologies in Personalized Medication.” He shared breakthrough advances in recent years regarding how genomic variations lead to individual differences in drug responses, as revealed through pharmacogenomics research. He evaluated and demonstrated the clinical utility of Yixu Medical’s newly developed “Precision Medication for Hypertension” gene sequencing product, which assists in guiding medication decisions under his supervision. Furthermore, he highlighted the research value and development prospects of establishing a large-scale hypertension genomics database, which will promote the prevention and control of hypertension as a chronic disease and facilitate new drug development in China.

It is foreseeable that the launch of the “100,000-Person Hypertension Genetic Cohort Project” will play a significant role in the precise prevention and control of hypertension in China, as well as in revealing and understanding the correlations and mechanisms underlying the interactions between “the human body and disease, disease and drugs, and drugs and host metabolism.” Furthermore, the rapid advancement of modern molecular biology techniques and the ongoing progress in genomics research are likely to serve as essential references for advancing individualized precision therapy in the future.

Yixu Medical was established in March 2016. Under the guidance of Professor Hu Songnian from the Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the company leveraged its proprietary patented technologies in next-generation sequencing (NGS) to design and develop a genetic sequencing product for personalized hypertension medication. The testing scope includes genetic risk assessment for primary hypertension and related cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as individual metabolic profiling for over 40 drugs across five major classes of antihypertensive agents and their combination therapies.

This project employs NGS-based targeted sequencing technology to investigate the relationship between various genetic mutations and drug efficacy and safety. By integrating hotspot genes in Chinese hypertensive patients with genes encoding therapeutic targets, it aims to reveal individualized differences among patients with different genotypes in terms of drug suitability and dosage. Through comprehensive omics data analysis of individual samples, the project assists in guiding medication practices, explores the practical significance of gene sequencing in aiding clinical drug selection and efficacy evaluation, and will further integrate with clinical big data to establish a pharmacogenomic database for hypertension. It is committed to mapping the genetic landscape of hypertension in China, thereby improving the effectiveness of hypertension treatment.