AstraZeneca, a global leader in biopharmaceuticals, announced on August 20 that agreements for strategic cooperation had been signed in Shanghai with Genecast (Beijing) Biotechnology Co., Ltd (hereinafter referred to as “Genecast Biotechnology”) and other players in precision medicine. The agreements will capitalize on each company’s respective advantages in treatment and detection, and establish an open, sustainable ecological platform for precision medicine, thereby providing support for China’s “Precision Medicine Initiative” and improving cancer diagnosis and treatment in China.

Under the agreements, AstraZeneca will work with Genecast Biotechnology and other eight companies engaged in precision medicine to explore the “improve three” and “establish one” concept. This means improving the technical capability in EGFR gene detection in China; increasing doctors’ and the general public’s knowledge of cancers due to EGFR gene mutation and of the standards for their diagnosis and treatment; and increasing their awareness about the approaches to and necessity of EGFR gene detection; as well as building an EGFR detection quality control system in China.