Pharma giant meets with healthcare startups in Shanghai

French pharmaceutical company Servier on Wednesday met with Chinese healthcare startups in Shanghai to explore potential partnerships.

The meeting also dealt with the development of therapeutic solutions to serve patient needs in China and other countries.

The network and expertise of Servier, which entered China four decades ago, will help local startups to further develop and distribute solutions domestically, and support them in exporting products to the international market, said David Guez, general manager of Servier's e-health department, WeHealth.

WeHealth works in cooperation with startup partners to create medical services and devices that improve patient care, capitalizing on company expertise in cardiovascular and metabolic fields in China and worldwide.

Guez said that there have been several results of such partnerships in Europe and the US over the the last two years, and that company aims to develop similar collaborations in China.

"We can also assist a local startup to partner with a counterpart in a foreign country, designing new products or services combining their respective strengths," said Stephane Mascarau, general manager of Servier China.

Guez said internet and AI technologies, including machine learning and deep learning, have made rapid progress in China in recent years. Servier therefore believe that it is the right time in China, when the country's healthcare reform continues to deepen, to avail of AI in producing new healthcare solutions.

"Doctors at primary community hospitals will assume more workload of diagnosing patients than ever before, and AI will be a wonderful tool to function in pre-diagnosis," said Mascarau.

Zeng Mingfa, founder and CEO of Beijing Kang Information Technology, said that the startup hopes that Servier's network of patients and doctors at home and abroad will help it reach a bigger market.

The startup's products, wearable devices to monitor blood pressure around the clock and smart watches to measure heartbeat and blood pressure, are available in the domestic market.