French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi clinched a strategic partnership with the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health (GIRH) at a ceremony on April 27.
According to the new deal, the two sides will deepen their cooperation on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and management of respiratory diseases in multiple areas and through multiple forms. The strategic partnership will enable the two parties to improve their overall medical level in respiratory health, drive the high-quality development of the discipline, and safeguard people's respiratory health.
Representatives from the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health and Sanofi China attend a signing ceremony of their strategic partnership on April 27.
Those in attendance of the ceremony from the GIRH side included Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), director of National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease and honorary director of National Center for Respiratory Medicine; and Yang Zifeng, vice-president of the GIRH. Attendees from Sanofi included Su-Peing Ng, head of Global Medical Affairs, Specialty Care; Bogdana Coudsy, head of Global Medical, Vaccines GBU; Lilya Ziad, head of International & China Medical Affairs; Li Jian, medical head of China Specialty Care; Li Ruihong, vaccines head of Medical, Greater China Vaccines Medical; and He Yabin, Franchise head of Dupixent Specialty Care China.
Representatives from the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Health and Sanofi China pose for a group photo at the signing ceremony of their strategic partnership on April 27.
It is of great importance to prevent and treat respiratory diseases since they are closely related to people's health and well-being. China has set a goal for the whole-cycle health management for chronic diseases to be available for each individual by 2030. The State Council has designated the prevention of respiratory diseases as one of 15 major healthcare actions between 2019 and 2030. The country has also rolled out guidelines concerning the promotion of early diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases, the improvement of prevention & treatment capabilities and levels, the advancement of scientific research, the commercialization of research results, and the availability of new vaccines, diagnostics and medicines.
The mortality rate of respiratory diseases is high and they have brought heavy burden to patients and presented huge challenges to China in guaranteeing public health. Taking asthma, a common respiratory disease, as an example, there are 45.7 million asthma patients aged over 20, and more than 70 percent of them are inadequately controlled. Data shows that from 69 to 82 percent of adult patients with asthma are plagued with type 2 inflammation. Airway inflammation is prone to induce asthma exacerbation, which can be life-threatening. In addition, they may also lead to airway remodeling and permanent lung damage.
Meanwhile, influenza (flu), an extremely harmful infectious disease, is also a major public health issues across the world. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), there are about 1 billion flu cases worldwide each year. About three and five million flu patients are severe cases, resulting in 290,000 to 650,000 deaths annually. In China, there are about 88,000 deaths from flu-related respiratory diseases each year, accounting for 8.2 percent of all mortality caused by respiratory diseases.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is another common infectious respiratory virus that poses a serious threat to human health, especially infants. RSV is the primary cause of acute lower respiratory infections in infants worldwide. In China, as many as 2,500 children are hospitalized each day as a result of RSV. A majority of RSV-related hospitalization cases are full-term infants who are healthy at birth.
Zhong Nanshan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), director of the National Clinical Research Center for Respiratory Disease and honorary director of the National Center for Respiratory Medicine, attends and addresses the signing ceremony on April 27.
In his speech at the ceremony, Academician Zhong said that there is still a huge demand in China for the prevention and treatment of chronic respiratory diseases - an area identified as one of 15 major healthcare actions in the Healthy China Initiative. He noted that the strategic partnership has created a good starting point for the two sides to strengthen their cooperation on the prevention and treatment of chronic respiratory diseases and to make concerted efforts in achieving high-quality development in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic respiratory diseases.
The strategic partnership will focus on drafting a report on the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases, developing case studies for vaccine innovation, educating the public on disease prevention, generating Chinese research data for chronic respiratory diseases and filling research gaps, and will encourage the two sides to work together on improving their clinical management capabilities and the development of this subject area.
"It's crucial to further enhance the prevention of respiratory diseases and adopt standard treatment and management practices for respiratory diseases," said Yang. He noted that the GIRH is a leading academic institution for respiratory health in China and also a clinical, research and innovation leader in treating chronic respiratory diseases and in handling outbreaks of major infectious diseases, and that Sanofi is a global leader in promoting the innovation-driven development of vaccine research and therapeutics for respiratory diseases.
He said that the strategic partnership will produce a synergy between them and enable the two sides to leverage their strengths in making medical innovation available to patients more quickly.
"Chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma have been identified by the WHO as one of main types of chronic diseases worldwide," Ng said, adding that Sanofi is a leading manufacturer of innovative targeted bio-medicines for respiratory diseases.
Ng stressed that Sanofi aims to build a strategic partnership with the GIRH and will work together with the GIRH to further improve its capabilities for the prevention and treatment of chronic respiratory diseases across the entire process and accelerate the availability of globally leading innovative products for Chinese patients.
"It's a great honor for me to witness the signing of this MoU for the strategic partnership with the GIRH. Through this partnership, Sanofi wants to attract more attention from the Chinese public toward respiratory infectious diseases and help them build right notions about the prevention and treatment of such diseases," Coudsy said, noting that the French firm also looks forward to working with the GIRH to better meet the demand of the Chinese people for the prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases in other aspects.
"Chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma are one of the chronic diseases that seriously threaten people's health," said Li Jian, medical head of China Specialty Care of Sanofi. In China, more than 70 percent of asthma patients are inadequately controlled. Patients with type 2 inflammation account for between 69 to 82 percent of the total number of adults with asthma. A phase-III clinical study conducted by Sanofi with Chinese subjects as the main participants also demonstrated the benefits of type 2 targeted biologics to asthma patients.
He noted that Sanofi looks forward to seeing more Chinese data and studies on chronic respiratory diseases through the partnership in a move to help improve diagnosis and treatment capabilities for the benefit of Chinese patients.
"We know that respiratory infectious diseases are often characterized by a short latent period, fast and wide spread, and strong infectivity. The prevention of such infectious diseases is an important part of public health efforts. Sanofi is committed to helping China further expand its prevention scope and improve its prevention efficiency of respiratory infectious diseases through innovative products. For example, Sanofi has launched a new quadrivalent flu vaccine in China and is working to introduce preventative options against RSV. In the years ahead, Sanofi will be better-positioned to protect the health of every Chinese person," said Li Ruihong, vaccines head of Medical, Greater China Vaccines Medical.
Sanofi is set to win for the approval of other innovative products including medicines and vaccines through multiple measures and will meet the growing expectations and needs of the Chinese people for disease prevention and treatment.
