Precision Medicine and Vaccines in China 2018
The Innovate UK Precision Medicine and Vaccines Expert Mission travelled to China in December 2018. During the mission, a delegation consisting of government representatives and industry experts visited the cities of Shanghai and Wuxi to meet key stakeholders from the Chinese precision medicine and vaccines market. The mission also visited the 3rd World Precision Medicine (China) Summit 2018 in Shanghai, under the theme of “Exploring the Recent Progress in Clinical Development and Industrial Innovation”.
Abstract from outcome report:
The mission was timed to build on the UK government’s plan to build a Britain fit for the future through a new ambitious Industrial Strategy.
The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched the ISCF to be delivered by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) to bring together the UK’s world-class research expertise with business investment to develop technologies and industries that can help the UK prepare for the challenge of an ageing society.
The Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF) has been invested in various health-related challenges, but the most relevant in this contest are:
- Data to Early Diagnosis and Precision Medicine ISCF where the UK government will invest £210 million to ensure the UK will be a world leader in the development of innovative new diagnostic tools, medical products, and treatments. The main three strands of the challenge are:
- Digital Pathology, Radiology, and AI: £50 million has been allocated to five UK-wide centres of excellence and an additional £22 million allocated to integrated diagnostics.
- Digital Innovation Hubs: Health Data Research UK (HDRUK) will deliver a £37.5 million stream to enable the safe and responsible use of health-related data at scale for research and innovation.
- Genomics: The Welcome Sanger Institute and the UK Biobank are among the key players to enhance UK capability in large-scale whole genome sequencing. Through sequencing of the 500,000 subjects of UK Biobank.
- The £98 million Healthy Ageing ISCF will drive the development of new products and services which will help people to live in their homes for longer, tackle loneliness, and increase independence and wellbeing. The programme will be investing in tackling some of the toughest medical challenges facing society today.
The mission also builds on China’s:
- World-leading Precision Medicine Initiative which will see the Chinese Academy of Sciences investing over US$9.2 billion by 2030 in the sector and which is seeking to make the country the world leader in precision medicine utilising both private sector and government resources.
- Application of Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies in data collection, analysis tools and artificial intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector.
- Beijing Genome Institute which is a world-leading genome sequencing capacity (Million Chinese Genome project)
About Global Expert Missions
The Global Expert Missions (GEM) programme is funded by Innovate UK to support the Industrial Strategy’s ambition for the UK to be the international partner of choice for science and innovation. Led by Innovate UK KTN, GEMs play an important role in building strategic partnerships, providing deep insight into the opportunities for UK innovation and shaping future bilateral collaboration programmes.