AstraZeneca Partners with Chunyu Doctor to Build an Integrated Internet-Based Chronic Disease Management System

On April 9, global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and mobile health company Chunyu Doctor officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two parties will integrate their respective online and offline channels to jointly build an integrated chronic disease management system. According to public data, China currently has 300 million patients with hypertension, 100 million patients with hyperlipidemia, and 100 million patients with hyperglycemia, with these numbers continuing to increase at a rate exceeding that of previous years. As a multinational pharmaceutical leader and a pioneer and frontrunner in mobile health, this collaboration between the two entities will inject new momentum into the field of innovative internet-based healthcare.

Currently, the two areas of collaboration between the two parties include: enhancing primary care physicians’ capacity for chronic disease management through joint training programs; and establishing a chronic disease management platform to support patients in lifestyle modification and disease management. The focus of this partnership is to improve medication adherence among patients with cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, while strengthening physicians’ diagnostic and treatment capabilities as well as patients’ self-management skills. Future areas of cooperation will encompass innovative medical services such as electronic prescriptions and online sales of prescription drugs. AstraZeneca aims to collaborate with partners in the 3D sector to create integrated online-offline solutions for patients, build an ecosystem across the entire disease spectrum, and thereby achieve true integration of diagnosis and treatment.

Commenting on this collaboration, Wang Lei, President of AstraZeneca China, stated that AstraZeneca is eager to join hands with cross-sector partners to leverage their respective strengths, connecting isolated aspects of disease management into a cohesive continuum, and providing comprehensive chronic disease management solutions for patients. When asked by VCBeat whether there are plans to hold equity stakes in the mobile health industry, Wang Lei remarked, “AstraZeneca focuses on doing one thing well. Although our expertise lies in the traditional pharmaceutical sector, we are committed to innovation and embracing it. We take pride in excelling within the traditional healthcare industry while keeping our windows open to collaborate with various new technologies. We remain open.” AstraZeneca revealed that it will provide Spring Rain Doctor with innovative drugs across various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and gastrointestinal disorders.

Zhang Rui, Founder and CEO of Spring Rain Doctor, stated that jointly building an internet-based chronic disease management system is not only a crucial step toward achieving Spring Rain Doctor’s “O+O” service closed loop, but also aligns perfectly with AstraZeneca’s 3D Innovation Strategy. Regarding collaborative innovation, Ms. Xu Jing, Vice President of China Information and 3D Innovation at AstraZeneca China, remarked, “People often perceive innovation as merely a good idea or a promising start. In reality, innovation demands more robust execution. Both parties must continuously refine and foster disciplinary rigor and executive capability in innovation throughout their future collaboration.”

In recent years, both companies have actively engaged in strategic deployments within the internet-enabled innovative healthcare sector. In 2015, AstraZeneca announced its “3D Innovation Strategy,” collaborating with partners in diagnostics, medical devices, and internet technology to provide patients with comprehensive whole-course care solutions, thereby steadily advancing innovation execution from ideation to conceptualization and beyond. Also in 2015, Chunyu Doctor launched its “Online-plus-Offline” (O+O) strategic service system, featuring “online private physicians plus offline Chunyu clinics.” This system offers users whole-course health management services, including online health consultations, maintenance and updating of electronic health records, and offline specialist consultations or multidisciplinary team meetings.