AstraZeneca forms health tech partnerships in China

AstraZeneca has announced partnerships with Chinese companies Alibaba and Tencent, in agreements that will use emerging technologies to improve healthcare in China.

The two partnerships were announced on Friday, February 2, according to BioCentury.

The partnership with AliHealth, a subsidiary of e-commerce company Alibaba, will allow AstraZeneca to access artificial intelligence and technologies related to the internet of things. The agreement will focus on disease education, and improving medicine traceability and verification.

Over the next three years the companies will be working to enhance the treatment of cancer and respiratory diseases in China, according to Chinese news reports.

Tencent advertises itself as a ‘provider of internet value added services’ in China, and operates China’s main messenger app ‘WeChat’. AstraZeneca will use the company’s capabilities in big data to address the issue of counterfeit and substandard medicines in China.

In November 2017, AstraZeneca partnered with the Chinese Future Industry Investment Fund to discover, develop, and commercialise new medicines,  LSIPR reported.

According to Reuters, China is the world’s second largest drugs market, behind the US, and accounts for a far greater proportion of AstraZeneca’s sales compared to other big pharmaceutical companies.

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