Nov 5, 2020, Shanghai – AstraZeneca attends China International Import Expo (CIIE) for the third consecutive year under the theme of "Deepening Our Commitment to China, Leading the Future of Healthcare". With global innovative drugs, new holistic disease management solutions integrating diagnosis and treatment as well as multiple smart healthcare scenarios, AstraZeneca expands its main exhibition booth to 1,000 square meters this year, making it the largest booth in the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products exhibition area. AstraZeneca also makes the debut of its new layout in China, launching five regional headquarters to supplement its existing China Headquarters. This move helps to unlock regional innovation potentials and support China's long-term economic stability and high-quality development. It further signifies the company's long-term commitment to the China market and its continuous effort to strengthen its presence in China.

AstraZeneca also presents at this year's newly established Public Health and Epidemic Prevention Section to showcase the company's efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, including donating funds, medicines and medical supplies, collaborating with partners to promote medical accessibility and innovative healthcare services during the most trying time, as well as organizing virtual meetings for global experts to share their best practices. AstraZeneca will also share the latest progress on COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222, which is being developed in partnership with Oxford University. The company will also share updates with Kangtai Biological on the workshop transformation and equipment procurement at Kangtai's Guangming Base in Shenzhen, where the vaccines will be produced.

Speaking of holding the third CIIE as scheduled as well as the company's future plan, Leon Wang, Executive Vice President, International & China President of AstraZeneca, said: "During the special period of the global spread of the pandemic, the CIIE is being held offline as scheduled, demonstrating the Chinese government's confidence in its anti-pandemic results and high-level organizational capabilities. It further conveys the important message of China's firm determination to continue open-up with its new dual-circulation economy development model, strengthen global exchanges and cooperation, and share the success of economic and trade development with the world. All these have reaffirmed our belief in continuing to deepen our root in the Chinese market and deepen regional strategic development. At the same time, we have seen the tremendous efforts made by the health industry in the fight against the pandemic, and we are convinced that on a global scale, the joint cooperation of research institutions, businesses and governments will expedite mankind's victory over the virus. "

During last year's CIIE, AstraZeneca announced to further increase its regional layout. In addition to its China Headquarters in Shanghai, the company would establish regional headquarters in Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou and Chengdu. Today, the Northern, Southern and Western China Headquarters in Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu signed a formal investment agreement at CIIE, and the Eastern China Headquarters in Hangzhou also officially opened.
Looking forward, AstraZeneca will focus on medical artificial intelligence, smart healthcare in primary market, precision diagnosis, healthcare IoT, digital healthcare, and modernization of integrated traditional Chinese and Western medicine in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuxi, Hangzhou, and Chengdu, respectively. Leveraging advantageous local industry resources, AstraZeneca aims to advance deep integration across the entire healthcare industry by fully integrated into local economy. Up till this point, AstraZeneca has formed a new strategic layout in the Chinese market, where the China Headquarters and the five regional headquarters will form strong synergy to develop in conjunction. On the same day, Hangzhou International Life Science Innovation Campus is also inaugurated along with the Eastern China headquarters and has embraced its first batch of resident companies.

“AstraZeneca's root in China began in Wuxi. It has now become AstraZeneca's innovation base integrating R&D, production, logistics, innovation, capital and talent development. Shanghai, as the home to our China headquarters, is also home to our global R&D China Center. Looking forward, we will cultivate the demand and advantages of local healthcare industry through our regional headquarters and promote the implementation of innovative healthcare solutions according to local conditions. By further unleashing the innovative strength of regional healthcare industry, we hope to support local economic development and benefit more patients. I hope that AstraZeneca will become a global pharmaceutical company that is truly ‘rooted in China', and we will continue to benefit our patients as it is our original intention." said Leon Wang.

As another initiative to integrate regional advantages and seize opportunities in China, AstraZeneca and Hainan provincial government signed a series of important cooperation intentions in the field of digital healthcare innovation. The two parties plan to carry out comprehensive partnerships on accelerating the introduction of global innovative drugs for oncology, smart healthcare and cultivating relevant talent, big data applications and medical climatology, prompting the"internet+ healthcare" technologies in medical institutions in Hainan. These initiatives aim to empower the development of the entire healthcare industry.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca also signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Management Bureau of Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone to launch the Pilot Project of Innovative Cancer Drug in Boao. The two parties will cooperate through Cancer Drug and Treatment Pilot Center, accelerating introduction process of global new innovative cancer drugs into China to bring innovative treatments to Chinese patients faster. It is reported that the first domestic application"Selumetinib Urgently-needed Imported Drug" submitted by Boao Super Hospital was approved by Hainan Drug Administration this October. Selumetinib is a targeted drug approved by FDA for the treatment of Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) (identified as rare diseases in the U.S. and Europe). It made ground-breaking progress for the treatment of NF1, bringing benefits to patients. Also this year, ENHERTU (DS-8201), a HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate, and CALQUENCE, a new generation BTK inhibitor, were listed in the Boao Lecheng imported licensed list of new cancer drug and covered by Hainan Lecheng Global Special Drug Insurance. According to the two parties, they will promote the introduction of more global innovative drugs in the Chinese market.

On the same day, with the active support of Hainan provincial government, cross-sector partners from governments, industry, academia, research, medical institutions and capital witnessed the launch of"i·Hospital" partnership in Hainan. AstraZeneca and Hillhouse Capital also announced to sign a cooperation agreement on"i·Hospital". Leveraging Hillhouse Capital's high-quality resources and the disease insights and industrial experience that AstraZeneca has accumulated through its 27 years of deep cultivation in China, this cooperation will bring together strengths of cross-sector partners to support the i·Hospital to realize greater value of medical services for meeting the medical needs and medical experiences of patients. The project will be officially launched after further approval by regulatory departments.

During the last CIIE, AstraZeneca joined hands with CICC Capital to establish a Global Healthcare Industrial Fund. This move has attracted the active participation of more than ten leading companies in the industry. At this year's CIIE, AstraZeneca and CICC Capital jointly announced that they have completed the phase I fundraising for the Global Healthcare Industrial Fund. Investors participating in Phase I fundraising include government guidance funds, healthcare industrial institutions and financial investment institutions. As an important part of AstraZeneca's global innovation strategy, the Fund will leverage AstraZeneca's strong advantages in healthcare sector as well as CICC Capital's rich investment management experience, to focus on the unmet healthcare needs of patients, covering the entire industrial chain from new drug R&D, production operation to commercialization, expanding introduction of overseas innovation and local innovation incubation, and prompting Chinese innovations to benefit the world.

Apart from signing multiple significant partnership agreements, AstraZeneca's booth also featured "China Headquarters plus Five Regional Headquarters" as the main line of display, bringing the latest achievements in regional healthcare innovation: In the Shanghai exhibition area, AstraZeneca displays a computer-assisted non-small cell lung cancer PD-L1 diagnosis software, one of the latest"AI+ healthcare" application scenarios brought by its Healthcare AI Innovation Center in Shanghai. The software is empowered by cutting-edge technologies such as machine vision, prediction algorithm, and natural language understanding to assist the whole process of diagnosis and treatment. A simulated mobile screening vehicle for five diseases and five cancers and a primary screening cabin are displayed in the Beijing exhibition area, shedding light on how AstraZeneca plans to bring effective and convenient early disease screening and early disease diagnosis to families in the primary market. In the Wuxi exhibition area, China Healthcare IoT Innovation Center presents 6 brand new innovative holistic disease management solutions integrating diagnosis and treatment, while Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Campus puts forward an AI-assisted ECG diagnosis platform offered by Tricog, with which patients could upload examination data timely. The system has been launched in more than 15 counties worldwide, providing more than 4.3 million ECG reports in total. The Guangzhou Bio-diagnosis Innovation Center, which is currently under construction, is also presented in Guangzhou exhibition area, showing AstraZeneca's support to precision diagnosis in China from various aspects including technology introduction, co-development of products, and talent development. The"Future Clinic" and"Smart Pharmacy" scenes exhibited in the Hangzhou exhibition area integrate resources from online to offline and from in-hospital to out-of-hospital, providing patients with disease management and medicine purchase channels available at home, creating a new model for pharmaceutical retail. As for Chengdu exhibition area, AstraZeneca is showcasing post-hospital management and home rehabilitation practices that aim to improve life quality of patients. The public can gain first-hand experience on how ACR renal impairment self-test machine can efficiently and easily provide patients with 14 urine tests such as ACR and occult blood, and create comprehensive long-term management services for chronic renal disease for confirmed patients.

The Safety Neb Room debuted at the Public Health and Epidemic Prevention Section is another highlight product in this year's CIIE. Utilizing hi-tech including ultraviolet sterilization lamps and infrared sensors, the room aim to provide patients with an environmental-friendly, sterilized, bacteria-free and smart nebulization solution, in order to decrease the risk of cross-infection for patients as they receive nebulized inhalation therapy.

When it comes to the greatest benefits that CIIE offers to business, Leon Wang commented:"Thanks to the powerful spillover and driving effects of CIIE, AstraZeneca has achieved significant development in China in the past two years. Looking forward, we will continue to leverage the open platform of CIIE to introduce global innovative drugs and actively explore innovative healthcare solutions as well as cooperation models with more partners. With China's new dual-circulation economic development model, we will further promote mutual-beneficial cooperations between innovation forces and join hands to build a two-way open healthcare ecosystem both in China and abroad. Together, we will share the possibilities brought by CIIE and contribute to a Healthy China."