NPC deputy Song Erwei proposes development of research-oriented hospitals and implementation of medical innovation

The fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress was started on March 5, 2022, in Great Hall of the People, Beijing. Academician Song Erwei, deputy to the National People's Congress and president of Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, attended the meeting and proposed promoting the construction of research-oriented hospitals.

“The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has a unique location advantage which gathers top medical resources in South China with a huge number of clinical research cases, a complete biomedical industry system and strong basic medical research capacity. It is in line with global scale.” said Erwei. He suggested tapping the potential of medical technology innovation within the Greater Bay Area.

He emphasized that a critical step in developing research-oriented hospitals is to drive the establishment of an industry-university-research innovation system, which promotes basic research and clinical research head to head, integrates scientific results into medical practice, and industrializes clinical applications.

In recent years, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital has achieved multiple original discoveries in medical science, some of which are groundbreaking. It has entered into “a fast lane” of research oriented hospital development, boasting of both medical researches and clinical innovation. There are 11 National Key Specialties in the hospital, with outstanding ability to diagnose and treat difficult diseases.

As a clinician scientist, Erwei is keen to address scientific questions derived from clinical practice. He is among the first doctors in China to perform breast-conserving surgery, which preserves the microenvironment tissues for activation of anti-tumor immunity. His study has proposed and solidified “the Theory of Tumor Ecosystem”, which sheds new lights on immunotherapy. To serve the public’s need for better health care, he advocated the launch of the Breast Cancer Industry University Research Innovation Alliance in China last year.

At present, the hospital has transformed a number of scientific and technological achievements such as "Breast Cancer Prognosis and Chemotherapy Sensitivity Test Kit", "Tumor Specific Antigen Peptide Vaccine" and "Intelligent Cardiopulmonary Wearable Device". It also set up academician workshops and research institutes in Huangpu District of Guangzhou and Nanhai District of Foshan, respectively.

"We will make full use of the Greater Bay Area's policy of piloting international advanced drugs and cutting-edge medical technology, collaborate extensively with overseas high-end research institutions in clinical and transitional research, and promote the development of new pharmaceutical preparations, medical devices, and new diagnosis and treatment apparatus," Erwei said.

Erwei believes that the construction of research-oriented hospitals is the key to promoting the implementation of medical innovation. "We aim to build a first-class research-oriented hospital, and strive to establish a clinical issue-oriented basic research platform, a medical digital twin innovation platform, a clinical research platform, an innovative medical transformation & technology platform, and a whole chain research platform of innovation alliance,” Erwei said.

The construction of international science and technology innovation centers and comprehensive national science centers in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is ongoing vigorously. To further promote exchanges and cooperation in medical clinical research and translation in the Greater Bay Area, Erwei suggested that we should further promote the development of research-oriented hospitals, improve the industry-university-research mechanism, and complete the closed loop from “clinical practice--scientific research--clinical practice”. He also advocated a relaxed and well-organized policy environment, as well as a clear and supportive guidance for investors in the Greater Bay Area.

Original Article: http://www.gzsys.org.cn/article/19110 

Text Source: Nanfang Daily, Guangdong News Network

Translated by Office of International Affairs, SYSMH