Partnership Seeks to Establish Digital Healthcare in China

An agreement between Merck and Internet value added services provider Tencent, is set to raise public disease awareness and provide more accessible healthcare services via digital platforms in China. “In this collaboration with Tencent, we will jointly explore the innovative combination of patient-centric healthcare management and digital platforms, which brings us one step closer to reaching our mission of transforming the lives of 40 million patients in China by 2025,” said Rogier Janssens, Managing Director and General Manager of Merck’s Biopharma Business in China. “The Healthcare Business of Merck in China is committed to developing a multi-dimensional intelligent medical ecosystem together with more cross-industry partners for the benefit of patients.”

“Tencent launched a major strategic upgrade in 2018. While we continue to stay committed to Consumer-Based Internet, we are also actively embracing Industrial Internet[i], with the healthcare field being an important focus.” Zhang Meng, Vice President of Tencent Medical said, “We want to build on advanced internet platforms and artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing capabilities and work with partners to make healthcare in China more convenient and efficient for all patients.”

With the agreement, Merck and Tencent will create intelligent digital healthcare services, thereby increasing public knowledge of diseases and improving patients’ understanding of disease symptoms and effective treatment options. The focus areas will include all treatment areas of Merck’s Healthcare business in China including allergies, infertility, diabetes, thyroid disorders and cardiovascular diseases, as well as oncology such as metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

Future plans include extending the scope of collaboration to the use of innovative medical service models based on “A.I. doctors” to provide more comprehensive disease awareness education and treatment services for mCRC and other diseases.