Expo to help accelerate MSD's Writing Our Future strategy

In pursuing a corporate strategy of "Writing Our Future", the top China executive of MSD said the global pharmaceutical company will continue to be a trusted leading partner in China's healthcare ecosystem for decades to come.

Anna Van Acker, president of MSD in China and senior vice-president of MSD, said the company's cutting-edge portfolio, innovative products and urgent sense of duty support the strategy, which was launched in 2021. She made the remarks ahead of the ongoing sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

Other pillars for the company, which has a complete portfolio covering prevention to treatment and will preside over the CIIE Pharma Committee this year, include improving accessibility and affordability for patients and consumers, sustaining long-term partnerships with customers and strengthening capabilities in data analysis, digitalization, and lifecycle management of products at different stages so they have greater value for patients, Van Acker said.

"China has tremendous unmet medical needs that will only be exacerbated in the future as the country is home to a fast aging population. That's why we must dream of a world where cancer isn't just treated, but potentially cured," added Van Acker. "At MSD, we have a sense of urgency and are moving at full speed ahead to save more lives from cancer with a vast development program."

By conducting more than 80 clinical trials covering 20 types of tumors, MSD expects to bring new treatment options to more Chinese physicians and patients in the coming years. The company's therapies have long been used for public health causes in China, including treating more than 10 million patients in 2022 alone.

Van Acker said that in order to continue riding the wave of China's medical care development, MSD will make further moves to improve accessibility and affordability by pursuing innovative access solutions and pan-industry partnerships along the patient journey of prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and keep long-term partnerships with customers to improve the quality of academic engagement and create solutions with stakeholders.

Since MSD's 9-valent HPV vaccine was introduced in 2018, more than 40 million Chinese women and girls have been inoculated. In 2022, the vaccine was approved in China to expand the age bracket of receivers (9 to 45), a milestone in the company's efforts to support the World Health Organization's goal of eliminating cervical cancer by 2030.

Other initiatives contribute to all-round awareness and prevention of cervical cancer, said Van Acker. This year marks the 10th anniversary of MSD running "Shell Action" jointly with the China Women's Development Foundation, promoting cervical health knowledge to around 90 million women and families in China.

"Also, because we understand the importance of a robust public health system in fighting infectious diseases, we launched the Jingwei Project with Peking University to support development of Chinese public health talents. The first phase kicked off at last year's CIIE and we plan to do more this year," said Van Acker.

At this year's CIIE, with the theme of "Writing Our Shared Future" and a 1,000-square-meter booth, MSD is one of the largest exhibitors in the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Pavilion, showcasing its innovative product portfolio and pipeline outcomes to the China market and building stronger trust from stakeholders.

"The CIIE is a true testament to China's long-term emphasis on opening-up and international collaboration. As a powerful platform, it allows us to strengthen our presence in China by fostering and deepening relationships with our partners in and beyond the healthcare ecosystem," Van Acker said.

"It creates an important network for exchanges across industries, providing our company with valuable insights into the rapidly evolving Chinese market in terms of the patients, healthcare providers, and policy makers, which in turn informs our strategic decisions and enables the company to better contribute to China's healthcare ecosystem."

A section of the MSD booth exhibits the company's latest innovations from prevention to treatment in vaccines, oncology, diabetes, hospital specialty care and animal health, including the debut of MSI-H/dMMR, for MSD's PD-1 inhibitor to treat late-stage solid tumors. MSI-H is a biomarker across tumor types.

The medicine has obtained 11 indications across seven tumor types in China since 2018, and can be reimbursed by around 120 commercial medical insurances, she added. Clinical research of the medicine to treat more cancer types is ongoing in the country.

Another section of the booth, titled "From Legacy to Future", showcases MSD's commitment to China with the latest updates of its manufacturing and research and development presence and its contributions to public health through corporate social responsibility efforts dating back to the 1990s.

As the president of the Pharma Committee for this year's CIIE, MSD has assisted the CIIE Bureau in various activities to promote dialogue and cooperation between the government and businesses. In early September, the company led a group of 16 multinational companies in the industry that are also CIIE exhibitors to visit Haikou and Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pioneer Zone in Hainan province. This helped them develop a deeper understanding of the unique favorable policies of pilot programs there, which in turn will help bring global high-quality medical resources to Hainan and establish it as a leading example for emerging healthcare ecosystems, Van Acker said.

Getting back to the "Writing Our Future" strategy, Van Acker emphasized that talents are at its foundation. "Building a workplace that attracts the best talents where they can grow with the company and fostering a diverse and inclusive company culture that empowers everyone to bring their best selves are among the enablers at the foundation of our strategy," she said.

MSD's unwavering commitment to compliance serves as enabler for the strategy that creates value for both the company and patients at large, Acker added.