Biopharmaceutical 'writing our future' at CIIE

This year marks the 30th anniversary of MSD's entry into the Chinese market.

As a global leading research-intensive biopharmaceutical company, MSD said it will be continuing to "writing our future" with China and is using the 5th China International Import Expo to showcase its great accomplishments in the healthcare sector and to demonstrate its strong long-term commitment.

"China is an important part of MSD's global growth strategy and one of our most important markets worldwide," said Anna Van Acker, president of MSD in China and senior vice president of MSD.

"From human health to animal health, our strong dedication to bringing high-quality medicines and vaccines to China has remained unchanged for more than three decades."

The story of MSD in China started with its transfer of the hepatitis B vaccine technology to China in 1989. This technology transfer changed the lives of tens of millions of Chinese and served as a prelude for MSD's 30-year-long relationship with China.

The company is headquartered in Shanghai, with research facilities in Beijing and Ningbo, and plants in Hangzhou, Ningbo and Tianjin, integrating R&D, manufacturing, and commercial operations for both human health and animal health. It is expected to support China to address the most urgent health challenges from prevention to treatment with vaccines, medicines and digital solutions in key areas including diabetes, anti-infection, oncology and rare diseases.

"During its 130 years history, MSD has remained deeply inspired by its core value as expressed by George Merck that 'we try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profit,'" said Van Acker.

"In China, we are dedicated to supplying high-quality medicines and vaccines in order to improve or save the lives of patients suffering from cardiovascular and metabolic conditions, infectious diseases, and cancer, to only name a few areas of our profound expertise and scientific know-how.

"As one of the key players in China's healthcare arena, MSD is contributing to the robust development of China's health and medical services, moving the industry toward the Chinese government's vision of creating a system centered on enhancing people's health."

The China International Import Expo is a "big" platform for MSD to demonstrate its ability and determination to help tackle important unmet medical needs.

It is the fourth time MSD has joined the CIIE, which is held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center.

Located at Booth 7.2A3-03 in the Medical Equipment and Healthcare exhibition area, the MSD China Pavilion covers 1,000 square meters, making it one of the largest exhibitors at CIIE. At this year's CIIE, MSD will hold more than 10 events and agreement-signing ceremonies with its partners in China's healthcare ecosystem, demonstrating its continued commitment to the Chinese market, building on the foundation of the successes over the past three decades.

"What we want to highlight is that we have a very comprehensive, straightforward strategy in place in China," said Van Acker. The overall strategy is also included in this year's theme of "30 Years of MSD China: Writing Our Future, Healthcare For All" that permeates the main CIIE MSD Pavilion. The booth consists of four areas corresponding to MSD China's four pillars to accelerate advancements:

• To strengthen the portfolio of cutting-edge medicines and vaccines to create efficient disease prevention and treatment solutions.

• To leverage digitalization to consolidate efficiency in operations and strengthen important local innovation and partnerships.

• To create a dependable platform for patient access through enhanced public outreach programs.

• To leverage the three-in-one engine of R&D, manufacturing, and commercial operations to work with partners and write a new future for a healthier China.

Designed with the idea of a "Future Runway" leading toward helping the goal of "Healthy China 2030," the MSD Pavilion integrates the exhibits into three dynamic runways with the themes of "Medicine," "Key," and "Importance," all pronouncing as "Yao" in Chinese and reflecting different extended meanings of the beautiful Chinese character "Yao."

"We very deliberately called it 'Writing Our Future' and 'Yao' in Chinese, and this demonstrates our progress and our devotion to work with partners to vigorously improve the accessibility for patients and consumers, and to become a trusted leading partner in the China healthcare ecosystem," said Van Acker.

MSD's star exhibit for this year is the oral antiviral medicine used to treat COVID-19, molnupiravir, which was co-developed by MSD and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

The company has just announced a cooperation framework agreement with Sinopharm for the distribution rights and exclusive import rights for molnupiravir in the Chinese mainland, so that once regulatory approval is obtained, it can potentially benefit Chinese patients who need it.

MSD is also to feature a series of innovative exhibits and interactive experiences to showcase its centuries-old history, its most striking achievements in the country during the last three decades, and its remarkable journey of growth alongside China's healthcare industry.

Through the pavilion, MSD will outline its vision of working together with partners to build an innovative, industry-leading, and sustainable healthcare ecosystem that supports China in delivering its "Healthy China" agenda.

"For the past three years, MSD has been privileged to take part in CIIE and witness China's increasing openness and partnership with the world," said Van Acker.

"Today, MSD China stands at a crucial point between its past and future. In our first 30 years, we have reached incredible milestones toward enhancing healthcare in the country, and we must continue to relentlessly rely on our passion for innovation and our mission of saving and improving lives to move toward a better future for all.

"Through the world-class open platform of CIIE, we look forward to further advancing our journey to fulfill MSD's long-term commitment and promise to China as we strengthen our cooperation with public organizations, medical institutions, industry partners and other sectors of society.

"Through our innovative medical solutions and persistent care, we are focused and determined on driving superior access and outcomes for patients and consumers as a trusted partner on the road to a 'Healthy China.'"