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November 6, 2023

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GSK views CIIE as platform for expanding health impact in China

The global biopharma company GSK said it remains steadfast to continue to maximize treatment for patients and seek new formats of collaborative healthcare service in the country.

Its high expectations of the Chinese market remain unchanged, with new initiatives hoping to accelerate its footprint here.

Infectious diseases, immunology/respiratory diseases, oncology, and HIV are the four core therapeutic areas where GSK is demonstrating its latest progresses in research and the most cutting-edge innovation in the home market.

“The annual grand event opens up enormous opportunities for us to expand our health impact for innovative medicines and healthcare solutions and also injects strong confidence in our continued development in China. We remain motivated and dedicated to speeding up research and development work with the aim of benefiting an even larger group of customers and patients,” said Cecilia Qi, vice president and general manager of GSK China.

“CIIE’s signal of continuous opening up also echoes well with GSK’s commitment to further expand alliances in China for a brighter blueprint of the healthcare ecosystem in the country based on open partnership and integrated industry development,” she added.

“In recent years, we’ve also seen encouraging advancements to speed up the introduction of new medicines and the overall mature digital healthcare ecosystem, which in general benefits multinationals as well as domestic players,” she noted.

It expects five new products and new indications to be unveiled in China in the next three years under its new corporate mission to “unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together.”

Over the last few years, the company has profited from CIIE’s spillover effects, has effectively hastened the introduction of a number of “first-in-China” and “best-in-class” products, and has been able to reach out to more Chinese patients as a result of the “China CIIE Speed.”

“There’s no doubt China has huge market potential, and we deeply relate to China’s pledge to pursue high-quality development, as we’re determined to introduce more innovative medicines to the local market,” she said.

It wants to remain an active participant and contributor to China’s healthcare system.

GSK’s Shanghai office was officially accredited as a designated multinational regional headquarters by the Shanghai Commerce Commission last year, and the company intends to capitalize on the position and increase its investment in the country.

“We feel Shanghai’s unwavering stance of opening up and continuously improving the business environment, and we remain steadfast in keeping our China headquarters and research and development here.”

With approximately 70 global R&D projects going on, China is included in 90 percent of global simultaneous development projects.

GSK’s Vocabria (cabotegravir injection) was exhibited at last year’s CIIE. In October, it was approved to be used with Janssen Pharmaceuticals’ Rekambys (rilpivirine long-acting injection) to treat HIV-1 infection.

This regimen is the first long-acting injectable HIV treatment capable of replacing daily oral medications, offering the convenience of monthly or bimonthly dosing. It may provide new treatment choices for people infected with HIV who are experiencing difficulties with current medications.

GSK has long prioritized increasing access to medicines and vaccines in China.

Last month, GSK reached an exclusive agreement with Chongqing Zhifei Biological Products Co Ltd to co-promote Shingrix, GSK’s shingles vaccine, in China for an initial three-year period. The combined scale and expertise of the two parties are projected to greatly increase Shingrix availability, allowing for the rapid expansion of patient access to the vaccine and additional potential indications.

Zhifei have granted GSK the right of first refusal to be their exclusive partner for any co-development and commercialization of an RSV vaccine for older adults in China, paving the way for the companies to potentially partner on Arexvy upon approval in China.

“We will continue to pursue a wide range of initiatives to collaborate with all types of stakeholders, including hospitals, charitable foundations, and public health organizations, and explore new models of partnership to expand medical service and resources for the general public,” said Beulah Ji, vice president and China head of development in GSK.

She added that the organization has seen a smoother procedure for introducing new research projects and pursuing local collaboration, and the progress accomplished during prior editions of CIIE has given it a lot of confidence to keep up the efforts.

The national approach and measures to combine disease prevention and treatment with an emphasis on primary healthcare are particularly encouraging, echoing the product portfolio of GSK that address people’s health needs throughout their entire lifecycles.




 

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