Second OrigiMed Summit for Cancer Discovery Held in Shanghai, Bringing Precision Medicine of China to Go Global

SHANGHAI, May 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 26, 2018, the Second OrigiMed Summit for Cancer Discovery: Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy was held in Shanghai. On the theme of "Broader Vision, Deeper Insight", Chinese and foreign experts and scholars in this summit carried out further discussion on such topics as tumor targeting and immunotherapy, aiming to benchmark China's precision treatment against international standards. 

For this summit, four experts in precision medicine from the Scientific Advisory Board of OrigiMed, including Professor Matthew Meyerson, a leader in cancer genomics and targeted therapy from Harvard Medical School and a founder of the cancer NGS company Foundation Medicine, Professor Gordon Freeman, a pioneer in immunotherapy from Harvard Medical School, Professor Carlos L. Arteaga, expert in translational research in breast cancer and director of the Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern in Dallas and Professor Tony Mok, international lung cancer expert from the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, gathered in Shanghai to show their cutting-edge research results in precision treatment for attendees. In addition, honored guests such as Professor Wu Yilong, lifetime director of Guangdong General Hospital, Professor Chen Haiquan, director of the Thoracic Surgery Department at Fudan University Cancer Center in Shanghai, and Professor John Cai, director of CEIBS Center for Health Care Management and Policy, were invited to cast new light upon issues of public concern like the transformation of precision medicine to clinical practice, and the development policies and economic relationships of targeted medicine and immunotherapy, providing new thinking and a breakthrough point for cancer treatment in China.

Generally speaking, precision medicine is a medical model that proposes the customization of healthcare. In this model, diagnosis and therapy are made based on a patient's tumor genetic content or other molecular or cellular analysis, with medical decisions, treatments, practices, or products being tailored to the need of the patient. Basically, cancer is a genetic disease. Every cancer is caused by the mutation of specific genes, allowing precision testing before precision treatment. Only when the type of cancer gene mutation is clearly defined can the correct selection of targeted therapies be made to truly benefit patients. In America, the coverage of over 300 tumor gene detection products in health insurance by FDA means great changes in cancer treatment. In the future, gene detection will not only provide cancer patients with more personalized medical services, but also reduce their financial pressure.

At the first experts' meeting on precision medicine strategy hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2015, it was announced that investment totaling CNY 60 billion is expected in this sector by 2030. Precision medicine has become a nationwide initiative since then. Although still in its infancy in China, precision medicine is bound to benefit the large population of cancer patients with the substantial support of government. In such context, the OrigiMed Summit for Cancer Discovery: Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy is of particular value.

In this summit, based on accurate detection techniques and international leading biodata analysis, OrigiMed released multiple new findings for cancer patients in China that had never been reported before. These findings will be practically and effectively applied in cancer treatment. OrigiMed also provided multiple international clinical research platforms. Since establishment, OrigiMed has built many international platforms such as a world leading international scientific advisory team, an international platform for clinical exchange and discussion, and international cooperation platforms for precision treatment of hepatobiliary tumor and breast cancer. OrigiMed has greatly promoted the precision, individualization and internationalization of cancer treatment in China.

"Precision treatment is a cutting-edge front in tumor studies and precision detection is a prerequisite for precision treatment. Our goal is to identify the origin of cancer and provide a more individualized precise treatment for each patient." Dr. Wang Kai, CEO of OrigiMed said. "In the past, we're only able to test one gene in a single detection. But now, several hundred genes can be tested at the same time with higher precision using next generation sequencing techniques (NGS). Based on the optimization algorithm and strong knowledge base developed by our company, patients can get accurate and broad information about various mutations of several hundred cancer genes through samples of the same size. Only in this way can the needs of clinically precise individualized treatment be met. In the future, we also hope to build more international collaboration platforms and work with domestic and foreign industry experts and peers to promote the development of precision medicine in China and fight against cancer together. We at OrigiMed believe this will ensure that once precision medicine becomes standard of care, cancer patients in China will benefit from this progress with prolonged good quality of life and lower mortality."

Professor Matthew Meyerson, expert in cancer genomics and director of cancer genomics at both the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, expressed that he was honored to join the Scientific Advisory Board of OrigiMed. He hopes that OrigiMed will make further progress in NGS and precise treatment to provide clinical assistance to cancer patients, with the comprehensive detection of hundreds of genes applied in clinical practice.

Professor Wu Yilong, one of the members in the presidium and lifetime director of Guangdong General Hospital, said that China's precise treatment would play an increasingly important role in the international community since China has entered into an era of rapid change and reform in medicine. With the upcoming commercialization of China's first checkpoint inhibitor in 2018, clinical trials should be conducted for immunotherapy and precision detection employed to select optimal biomarkers to provide effective treatment for more patients. Dr. Wu pointed out that powerful biodata analysis techniques and capabilities would play an important role in future precision treatment.

The summit was sponsored by OrigiMed, which was founded in May 2016. With capital from IDG Ventures, Green Pine Capital Partners, Wedo Capital, Star VC and other famous investment institutions at home and abroad, OrigiMed upholds the core principle of "Tracing Cancer Back to the Origins" and is committed to the R&D of new diagnosis and treatment technologies to be applied in clinical practice for all cancer patients across China. By carrying out comprehensive detection of 450 cancer genes via NGS and its innovative technologies tailored to clinical needs, OrigiMed offers one-stop precision detection, featuring six major clinical functions. In addition, OrigiMed launched the first mobile application of precision treatment data in China, Doctor Marmot, which has provided more assistance for clinical treatment. At present, the clinical detection service network of OrigiMed covers more than 200 core hospitals in over 40 key cities nationwide.

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SOURCE OrigiMed