Sanofi sees an innovative future in China

Innovation will be the key message of French health-care giant Sanofi during November’s second China International Import Expo. It will include not only innovation in products, but also innovation in digital health care and intelligent solutions in disease management.

CIIE is a significant platform where cutting-edge technologies shine and Sanofi is looking forward to strengthening communication and idea exchange with people from all industries.

“As one of the first batch of MNCs that successfully entered the China market, Sanofi has introduced more than 40 high-quality innovative medicines and vaccines to the China market,” said Pius S. Hornstein, General Manager China, and Country Chair of Sanofi China. “In the future, we will further enhance R&D and innovation to provide more high-quality products and solutions for the Chinese people. By 2025, We plan to launch more than 30 innovative medicines and vaccines to the Chinese market.”

Achievements in Innovation

At the first China International Import Expo last year, the French pharma giant demonstrated its outstanding achievements in global research and development, its progress of cooperation with partners across various industries, and its lasting commitment for the health-care needs of Chinese people.

It also showcased the positive role that Sanofi plays in China’s health-care ecosystem.

This year, Sanofi will display nearly 20 innovative medicines and vaccines at the CIIE, including Dupixent®, which is the first and only targeted drug delivery system for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in adults approved by the FDA in the US and by authorities in the EU. Its main targets include moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. Patients with atopic dermatitis in China have little effective treatment for the disease, creating an unmet clinical demand.

In the interactive displaying zone, Sanofi will leverage intelligent technologies, such as big data and artificial intelligence, to present its latest results for digital innovative and medical solutions through interactive devices.

One of the innovative solutions to be showcased at the CIIE is its intelligent disease management tool for Parkinson’s that collects patients’ data to help health-care professionals better evaluate the disease and decide on treatment, improving chronic diseases management. Visitors can also enter the virtual reality world and experience services and platform functions as “diabetics.”

Sanofi’s “Omni Protection” vaccination solution provides an integrated solution for Chinese patients, covering services such as online appointment-making, vaccination and public education.

Chest Pain Center (CPC) in Hebei is another achievement of high-quality innovative service that increase the access to the primary health care for people living in counties. It further advances comprehensive disease control and prevention, carries out tiered diagnosis and treatment, and drives integrated development of grassroots health care.

Strategic cooperation with local partners

Leading digital transformation is one of Sanofi’s strategic focuses in China. China’s digital economy is developing rapidly, with e-commerce accounting for 40 percent of the global market and investment in artificial intelligence accounting for 60 percent of that of the global.

Sanofi is actively working with partners including Internet giants, startups and universities to explore digital innovative solutions in China, and it’s committed to bringing more innovative and intelligent health management models to patients, and effectively improving the health of the Chinese people.

At the CIIE, Sanofi will sign a contract of strategic cooperation with Ping An International Smart City Technology. The two companies’ advantages in medicine, financial service and the Internet, will contribute to full cooperation in chronic disease management, big data in health care, and innovative health insurance etc. Also, Sanofi will declare its collaboration with Tencent ­— one of the Chinese Internet giants. Through AI and big data technologies, the AI-health care cross-over will promise patients with full solutions that are more than just medicine.

Continuous investment in China

Over the past years, it has made significant business progress in various sectors especially in research and development as China encourages cutting-edge products and technologies to be applied to a number of industries to boost entrepreneurship and to encourage the offering of innovative products.

Last year, Sanofi China established a digital innovation hub in Shanghai to build a digital innovative ecosystem with local startups.

On September 1st this year, Sanofi set up its first research institute in Suzhou to strengthen its research arms. Its global R&D Operations in Chengdu has allowed China to become the third pillar of global Clinical Sciences & Operations after the US and France.

By 2025, the company plans to launch over 30 new innovative medicines and vaccines in the fields of chronic, rare diseases and vaccines in China.

The figure would be a sustainable increase as it introduced in China over the last decade, which is also unprecedented for Sanofi and for many other players in the health-care industry.

In addition, Sanofi is always taking talent as the key to success in a highly competitive market such as China. Aiming to build itself as a magnet of talent, Sanofi stays open to the most talented and enthusiastic professionals and works with ambitious talent on its purposeful journey.

Helping to achieve Healthy China 2030

Sanofi has stepped into county-level markets and lower-tier cities at a very early stage to serve millions of people who lack of medical resources.

Each year, Sanofi’s vaccines provide immunization and disease prevention for over 12 million people in China and its innovative medicines benefit nearly 10 million patients with diabetes or cardiovascular diseases, more than 60,000 with cancer and over 600 with rare diseases. It’s also been standing by the few who suffer from rare diseases who get little attention from society and healthcare service providers.

 As a world leading pharmaceutical and health-care company, it shares the same goals with the Chinese government, particularly as part of the country’s Healthy China 2030 stratrgy. Sanofi will firmly support the Chinese government’s five priorities in health care, focusing on the prevention and control of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, as well as infectious and endemic diseases, devoted to improving the health of Chinese people and achieving health China.