Wuxi's iCampus signs strategic cooperation with HK's health center and AstraZeneca

Wuxi International Life-Science Innovation Campus, or iCampus, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Hong Kong Centre for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering (COCHE) and AstraZeneca Investment (China) Co Ltd during the recently concluded 7th China International Import Expo in Shanghai.

The three parties will fully leverage their respective advantages in industry services, drug research and development, and technological innovation to collaborate in scientific research innovation and clinical practice.

The collaboration aims to promote technological innovation and industry development in the field of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, facilitate the transformation of innovative results to benefit patients and doctors, and support the high-quality development of the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular industry, fostering the development of new quality productive forces in healthcare.

Under the collaboration, iCampus and COCHE will jointly establish the iCampus·Hong Kong COCHE Innovation Cooperation Center, collaborating on scientific and innovation projects related to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health in Wuxi.

The two parties, together with AstraZeneca, will cooperate on scientific research into chronic kidney disease cardiovascular risk factor screening, nano-engraved probe screening, and early carotid artery screening. The research will promote the Wuxi government's science and innovation guidance fund, which offers grants of $100 million and $1 billion to actively advance international innovation project incubation, accelerate subsequent cooperation and transformation of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease science and innovation projects, and build an open and innovative life and health ecosystem based in Wuxi.

Meanwhile, COCHE will support iCampus and AstraZeneca in establishing an AI-based digital management center for chronic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (blockchain) in Wuxi. The move aims to enhance comprehensive community-level prevention and management of chronic diseases, improve community-level early screening and intervention treatment of high-risk factors for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, increase the efficiency of hospital medical consortium diagnosis and treatment services, allow for more efficient use of medical resources, and benefit local patients and doctors.

The iCampus is a joint project by the Wuxi Municipal Government, Wuxi High-tech Zone Government, and AstraZeneca, aiming to serve as an international and professional industrial park with "excellent facilities, complete functions, first-class standards and beautiful environment".

Since its official opening in September 2019, iCampus has attracted more than 80 innovative enterprises from countries and regions such as the United Kingdom, Russia and India to sign contracts with iCampus and establish a presence there.

In collaboration with the University of Oxford and the Karolinska Institutet, the Hong Kong Center for Cerebro-cardiovascular Health Engineering was established under City University of Hong Kong in 2020.

Focusing on the field of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health, COCHE is committed to developing new ways to treat CVD with innovative technologies, including flexible sensing, biomedical and molecular imaging, nano-biosensing, and AI in health with the focus on innovative wearables.

Since its establishment, COCHE has incubated 13 biotech companies focusing on segments such as cardiovascular ultrasound and cerebrovascular imaging. With the help of advanced technologies like AI and sensors, these companies help people better detect and treat diseases, thereby improving diagnostic and treatment efficiency, reducing mortality rates, and alleviating both the financial and social burden on the healthcare system.