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Merck plans China expansion with eye on AI-powered precision medicine

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Merck plans China expansion with eye on AI-powered precision medicine

2025-03-25 04:53 Last Updated At:11:27

German pharmaceutical company Merck is expanding its business in China, with an eye on the development of precision medicine powered by artificial intelligence (AI) technology, according to a senior leader of the multinational drugmaker.

In an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on the sidelines of the China Development Forum 2025 in Beijing, Marc Horn, the executive vice president of Merck Group and the president of Merck China, said that the company is accelerating the introduction of its global pipeline into China and deepening local partnerships in chronic disease management.

"We are developing diabetes, cardio, but also thyroids and oncology. So we are bringing a lot of new pipeline from oncology to China. But we are also developing here locally with partners. We have been developing in that space products here for China together," said Horn.

He highlighted the application of AI, saying that the emerging technology improves the efficiency of medical research and development, and helps create customized individual treatment.

"Beyond that, when you think about life science, and taking AI again, what is more important is that you do really precision medicine, so really customized medicine by person. You're really diagnosing now, with the help of AI, what is your problem, so that you really get a customized treatment. And in that space, for example, also to develop new solutions to your problem, you use AI, so we have programs, we call them AIDDISON, we call them SYNTHIA, where you can very quickly go through millions of potential molecules, and decide then with AI help which one would be the right pathway to go," Horn said.

He also noted that given China's demographic and medical needs, the company is using AI to lay the groundwork for a smarter, more adaptive business to support the Chinese healthcare system.

"The other area we see, where we can support, is really elderly care, right? You have in China, from a demographics point of view in 2035, 400 million people, what the government call 'the silver economy,' where we can also support, right? Each of them will need customized treatment, care at home, most likely. And think about combining that with robotics, humanoid robotics. So these are areas we're working on," said Horn.

Merck plans China expansion with eye on AI-powered precision medicine

Merck plans China expansion with eye on AI-powered precision medicine

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8th Digital China Summit lets public experience country's exciting new technologies

2025-04-29 14:51 Last Updated At:15:07

The 8th Digital China Summit kicked off in Fuzhou City of east China's Fujian Province on Tuesday, offering members of the public a chance to interact directly with the country's most cutting-edge technological developments in robotics, AI and other fields.

More than 70 achievements, including the Digital China Development Report 2024 and the National Data Resources Survey Report 2024, were released during the summit, comprehensively presenting the latest progress in China's digital technology innovation, artificial intelligence (AI) application, and data resource development and utilization. Notably, the summit has brought together over 100 esteemed academicians and experts from various fields.

The summit's on-site experience area, which opened one day ahead of the summit, features four major thematic zones with over 100 interactive exhibits. One of the standout exhibits is an AI-powered content creation platform, which is able to generate images, videos, and 3D models through simple sketches or gestures.

"A batch of new technologies, services and products such as AI robots, multimodal large models and trusted data spaces have been presented at this summit, with as many as 65 percent making their public debut. This time, our on-site experience area will be open to the public from April 28 to May 4, allowing the public to experience the achievements of digital China construction in person," said Xue Bo, director of Fuzhou's Municipal Bureau of Data Administration.

The summit organization committee has also set up 46 experience spots for digital application scenarios across Fuzhou, allowing people in the city to see and feel the latest achievements in the realm of digital services.

8th Digital China Summit lets public experience country's exciting new technologies

8th Digital China Summit lets public experience country's exciting new technologies

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