Bristol Myers Squibb, or BMS, kicked off its third China Partnering Week with the theme "Innovate to Conquer, Collaborate for the Future" in Beijing on April 8. As a flagship platform for advancing open innovation under the company's "China 2030 Strategy", this year's event brought BMS together with partners across China's biopharmaceutical ecosystem and value chain. They hoped to harness China's ingenuity to create global value, reinforcing BMS' commitment to the principle of "In China, For China, For Global".

During the partnering week, BMS hosted a series of influential activities focused on open innovation and ecosystem collaboration, including the official launch of its first innovation center in China, the convening of the third innovation forum, and the establishment of several strategic partnerships.

Cari Gallman, executive vice-president, general counsel and chief policy officer of BMS, and Cristian Massacesi, executive vice-president, chief medical officer and head of development of BMS, joined the event alongside other global leaders across research and development and commercialization, underscoring the company's commitment to integrating to innovate and partnering to prosper within China's vibrant biopharmaceutical ecosystem.

Massacesi said: "Putting patients first, BMS is committed to addressing unmet needs through pioneering science. China is emerging as a major source of global biopharmaceutical innovation. As a leading global biopharmaceutical company, BMS aims to play an even more valuable role in this ecosystem. As we advance our 'China 2030 Strategy', China's strategic importance within BMS' global R&D network continues to grow. Today, participants in China are included in nearly 100 percent of our top-priority global clinical studies, and China is entering the development process earlier than ever, helping to accelerate BMS' global pipeline. Meanwhile, BMS is combining its global leadership with China's growing capabilities to explore and speed up the translation of China-originated innovation, so that more breakthroughs may benefit more patients in China and around the world."

The China Innovation Center of BMS, established in BioPark, Beijing E-Town, will work in synergy with BMS' R&D and Innovation Center in Shanghai, forming a dual-engine powerhouse to accelerate scientific innovation. Leveraging BioPark's strong industry-academia-research network, the China Innovation Center will focus on five core areas (oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease and neuroscience) and three innovative modalities (targeted protein degradation, radiopharmaceuticals and cell therapies). Through strategic collaborations, BMS strives to advance two priorities. First, to accelerate the introduction of global first-in-class and best-in-class innovations into China through data-enabled value generation, innovative payment models, and standardized diagnostic and treatment pathways. Second, to bring breakthrough innovations incubated through collaborations in China to the global market faster.

Additionally, as one of the flagship events during the partnering week dedicated to enhancing scientific exchange and fostering innovation partnerships, the BMS Innovation Forum provided a vital collaborative platform for mutual sharing and targeted matchmaking. The forum convened more than 260 representatives from government, industry, academia, healthcare, leading biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as the investment community. By facilitating efficient interactions among these stakeholders, the forum is accelerating the evolution of innovation partnerships from a shared vision to co-created value, according to BMS.

Beyond engaging in discussions on cutting-edge sciences, BMS also joined forces with its partners during the partnering week to explore new collaboration opportunities. During the event, BMS reached a consensus with the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute to explore innovative pathways toward regulatory authorization for new drugs by leveraging real-world data. In addition, BMS signed three strategic memoranda of understanding, focused respectively on leveraging commercial insurance to support diversified payment models for innovative medicines, conducting policy research on the protection of clinical trial data, and advancing the development of multilayered medical security systems and drug-pricing mechanisms.

Pascal Qian, general manager of BMS China, said: "With more than four decades of deep commitment in China, BMS' dedication to patients in China remains unwavering. Under our 'China 2030 Strategy', we will deepen our 'In China, For China' commitment by aligning our business in the market with China's high-quality development priorities, while embedding local patient needs and clinical insights into our global R&D and commercial networks. At the same time, as a trusted partner to China's biopharmaceutical industry, we are also committed to being 'In China, For Global'. Through platforms such as the partnering week, the innovation center and the innovation forum, we will explore and advance strategic partnerships focused on co-creating value, ultimately fostering two-way empowerment to deliver two-way innovation."