PATH establishes Representative Office in Shanghai, China

As China and the world work to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, PATH’s Shanghai Representative Office obtained registration from the Overseas Non-Governmental Organization Management Office of Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau today with the guidance and support of the Science and Technology Commission, Shanghai Municipality (STCSM). The registration will enable PATH’s Shanghai Representative Office to implement health projects directly with partners. Our work in China will be focused on:

• developing, evaluating and applying appropriate health technologies,
• increasing cooperation and capacity-building for innovative medicines and global health,
• enabling scientific and technological exchanges between Chinese scientific research institutions and other partners globally, and
• providing project management, technical and consulting services.

PATH has been working with the Chinese government, research institutions and enterprises since its inception in 1977. In the past decade, in collaboration with Chinese health departments at all levels, scientific research institutes, pharmaceutical companies and foundations, we implemented various projects in the fields of vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, medical devices, and infectious disease prevention and treatment. With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we supported the Chengdu Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd (CDIBP), a subsidiary of China National Biotec Group under Sinopharm on their Japanese encephalitis (JE) vaccine.

After eight years of collaboration and effort, the JE vaccine of CDIBP became the first Chinese vaccine to receive WHO prequalification. This China-made vaccine has become an internationally recognized tool to fight JE and helped to protect more than 300 million children from the disease. We have also been supporting a number of domestic manufacturers in vaccine development and sustainable supply. The bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) of our partner Beijing Institute of Biological Products Co., Ltd. received WHO prequalification in 2017; and the bivalent HPV vaccine of Xiamen Innovax Biotechnology Co., Ltd. became the first domestic HPV vaccine in 2019. We are continuing to provide support to help the bivalent HPV vaccine receive WHO prequalification.

The city of Shanghai is aiming to become a globally recognized science and technology innovation center. We are honored to be supporting this through close collaboration and partnerships with local governments, research institutes and peers. With the guidance and support of the Science and Technology Commission Shanghai Municipality (STCSM), we will actively develop collaboration in the fields of drugs, vaccines and more to promote innovation. While the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, we expect to work with STCSM to strengthen international collaboration for developing diagnostic tools, therapeutic drugs and vaccines to contribute to the global effort.

We thank STCSM and the Overseas Non-Governmental Organization Management Office of the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau for their strong support. We will continue to work closely with both to accelerate the development of public health innovations and science and technology in China.

About PATH

PATH is a global organization that works to accelerate health equity by bringing together public institutions, businesses, social enterprises, and investors to solve the world’s most pressing health challenges. With expertise in science, health, economics, technology, advocacy, and dozens of other specialties, PATH develops and scales solutions—including vaccines, drugs, devices, diagnostics, and innovative approaches to strengthening health systems worldwide. Learn more at: http://www.path.org/

For more information: Li, Junchen | jli@path.org