A strategic cooperation agreement on health was signed by the University of Macau (UM) and China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. (Sinopharm) on February 26, when a delegation from the state-owned enterprise visited UM, according to a statement from the public university yesterday.
The statement noted that in line with the agreement, both parties, based on the principles of complementarity and common development, will engage in in-depth cooperation in aspects such as establishing joint laboratories, conducting joint translational research, commercialising research results, and enhancing the cultivation of health professionals.
The term “translational” denotes the transfer of scientific knowledge into practical applications.
Both also hope to promote the “commercialisation of UM’s research results through closer industry-academia collaboration, thereby boosting the strategic technological capabilities of Macau and Hengqin in the field of biomedical sciences and health”.
The delegation was led by Sinopharm Chairman Liu Jingzhen and comprised Sinopharm’s senior executives and representatives from its subsidiaries specialising in Chinese medicine, biopharmaceuticals, chemical pharmaceuticals, and aesthetic medicine, the statement said. They were welcomed by UM Rector Yonghua Song (aka Song Yonghua) and Vice Rector Xu Jian.
Song said that the university attaches great importance to its cooperation with Sinopharm and will make every effort to facilitate the cooperation process, according to the statement.
The statement added that the delegation visited the State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine and the Faculty of Health Sciences’ laboratories on the UM campus in Hengqin. This was followed by a meeting where UM professors presented seven research results in healthcare, anti-cancer, aesthetic medicine and reagents based on previous meetings and discussions between both parties.
Representatives of Sinopharm’s subsidiaries also presented their respective company profile overviews, intentions to cooperate with UM, and the cooperation model, the statement noted.
This handout photo taken on February 26 and released yesterday shows participants in the on-campus meeting between UM staff and members of the Sinopharm delegation.
