p1images-istockphoto-com-money-
p1images / iStockphoto.com
21 February 2018Asia

UK agrees £500m of life sciences deals in China

More than £500 million ($696.6 million) worth of life sciences and healthcare agreements were signed between the UK and China during the UK Prime Minister’s visit to China earlier this month.

Prime Minister Theresa May and Liam Fox, UK Secretary of State for International Trade, witnessed the deal signings at the Future of Medicine event in Beijing, China.

LSIPR  previously reported on one of the deals when AstraZeneca announced an agreement with Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems to work together to tackle counterfeit drugs on the e-commerce platform.

AstraZeneca also partnered with AliHealth, a subsidiary of e-commerce company Alibaba. The partnership will allow AstraZeneca to access artificial intelligence and technologies related to the internet of things.

During the Future of Medicine event, high-tech investment company Tus-Holdings signed an agreement to invest over £200 million in the Cambridge Science Park.

The University of Manchester and Peking University Health Science Center agreed to cooperate in the areas of biology, medicine and health, and to extend collaboration to a new joint technological platform for biomarker discovery.

Additionally, the UK Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority and China’s Food and Drug Administration agreed to exchange safety information on medicines and medical devices.

Fox said: “Advances in medicine and technology are opening up new opportunities to manage and cure disease. Today, accelerated access programmes bring novel therapies to patients faster than ever before.”

He added that advancements can’t be made in isolation and that they need to be integrated into the infrastructure of a country’s healthcare system.

“This is an exciting challenge facing both the UK and China, tackled through greater collaboration during this golden era,” concluded Fox.

In January, sister site WIPR reported that May had urged China to respect the “rule book” and admitted that the countries may not always see eye-to-eye, in an opinion piece for the Financial Times.

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox.


More on this story

Asia-Pacific
6 February 2018   AstraZeneca has announced partnerships with Chinese companies Alibaba and Tencent, in agreements that will use emerging technologies to improve healthcare in China.

More on this story

Asia-Pacific
6 February 2018   AstraZeneca has announced partnerships with Chinese companies Alibaba and Tencent, in agreements that will use emerging technologies to improve healthcare in China.