A.Catalyst Network

The Andean cluster hub focuses on strengthening the digital ecosystem and developing technological solutions that add value for all stakeholders in the healthcare system. For this reason, the hub is committed to the progression and consolidation of initiatives that, through health innovation, contribute towards improving the quality of life for thousands of people in Colombia, as well as other markets in the Andean cluster.

Hub stakeholders:
Governments, start-ups, universities.

Hub solutions and activities:
Accelerator programmes, AI solutions, digital apps, digital partnerships, disease education and support, product partnering and co-development.

Examples of hub solutions and activities:

• Virtual Clinic (COCO – start-up) – Virtual Clinic is an AI solution that provides HMOs with a complete digital ecosystem for covering patient needs, from medical appointment requests by AI, to telehealth services, all through the same system.
• Auto Asthma Alerts (Triario – start-up) – Early intervention AI software that generates alerts of SABA overuse to help HCPs to quickly identify patients who are not receiving adequate treatment, enabling early intervention.
• eCommerce service (Rappi – super start-up) – ePharmacy service offers a new digital ecosystem for reaching more patients and offering the best end experience, with the ultimate goal of becoming the authority in healthcare eCommerce.'

Launched with the high-profile signing of a collaborative agreement with the Argentinian Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation, and later endorsed by an MoU with the National Secretary of Health in August 2019, the Argentina-based hub aspires to develop the healthcare landscape, introducing a paradigm shift in treatment and diagnosis, and elevating the direction of public policy towards precision medicine.

Key initiatives:

• Medical training in Genetic Counselling educational platform: uplifting capabilities at a public oncology hospital (third edition in 2021 saw over 600 HCPs enrol).
• Think tank and open workshop: driving the validation of precision medicine.
• Regulatory framework research: establishing status of precision medicine and the legal and health impact of its implementation.
• Public sector analysis: reviewing the economic impact of precision medicine in oncology.
• Precision Medicine consensus with medical societies and legal framework and background in Argentina.
• Working with PAGs to train nurses in hereditary ovarian cancer management.

Launched in March 2018, AstraZeneca’s South San Francisco (SSF) site brings together talent at our world-class, modern, amenity-rich working environment located on the Cove at Oyster Point campus, in the heart of the area's vibrant biotech and technology community.

Key initiatives:

• Pioneering innovative research and exploring novel pathways across multiple therapeutic areas, including: oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases, respiratory, inflammation, and autoimmunity, as well as infectious diseases and vaccines.
• Contributing to the development of compounds for haematological malignancies.
• Developing unique dual and triple combination products for the treatment of widely prevalent respiratory diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, broadly applying novel particle engineering technology to enable inhaled biologics and new modality applications. 

The AstraZeneca Experience Lab is located in Wilmington, Delaware, with a companion location under construction in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Both sites house teams of expert Experience Designers, Visual Designers, User Researchers and Experience Strategists who practice human-centred design and design thinking processes to develop solutions to help patients thrive, in spite of the burden of their disease.  

Key initiatives:

• Focusing the portfolio to align with the internal strategy to drive omni-channel and digital health impact in key therapy area and brand teams to ensure patients and HCPs can access the information and experiences they need to successfully treat and manage their disease across any channel.
• Upskilling marketers with applied learning of design thinking and human-centred design processes through working projects to ground patient centricity into their everyday ways of working.
• Shifting the current mindset of marketing from asset creation to designing experiences, employing a test and learn, co-creation, agile methodology. This reinforces the importance of empathy for our patients as we continually ‘enrich and simplify’ experiences that have a positive impact on their families and their lives. This is achieved with collaborative sprints in working projects, solving problems for patients and brand teams simultaneously.

Launched in March 2021 and with strong support from the Polish government, the Warsaw Innovation Hub is a unique multi-stakeholder platform designed to leverage IT and policy solutions to help patients, improve the healthcare system and address healthcare challenges. The hub aims to catalyse the delivery of healthcare innovation in the country and build resilience and stability in the post-pandemic era.

Key initiatives:

• Kicking off activities with the first crowdsourcing of problems and piloting first solutions.
• Key priorities for 2021 include: developing and implementing digital health solutions to optimise patient treatment and reduce hospitalisation, improving access to innovation for lung cancer patients, and implementing solutions aligned with our Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience.

The Hong Kong-based hub is built on partnerships with the Society for Innovative Healthcare Hong Kong (SIHHK) and Sanomics, a diagnostics company, to support the development of innovative healthcare solutions in Hong Kong, as well as in mainland China.

Key initiatives:

• Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) collaboration: working with the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to discover biological pathways implicated in DKD and address unmet treatment needs.
• Partnerships with Belun Technology and Hong Kong Elderly Welfare Foundation: strengthening cross-sector collaboration among medical, innovative technology and social welfare.
• Launch of ‘Incubio’ co-incubation programme with Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP): supporting biomedical tech start-ups engaged in the research and development of integrated oncology solutions. This four-year programme to incubate and nurture start-ups offers coaching, a co-working office/lab space, shared equipment, regulatory support and financial subsidy.
• Partnership with Lippo Healthcare: investing in and developing health innovation and patient-centric solutions in the Greater Bay Area. The cooperation will focus on cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and oncology, with the aim to develop solutions to address local healthcare challenges and accelerate innovation.

The GGC hub aims to put patients first and build a unified ecosystem to cater to and support existing and future patient needs. The hub’s ambition is to create a collaborative platform that fosters partnerships with authorities, payers and innovative health service providers, to help patients in the following areas:

• Early detection of chronic and life-threatening diseases
• Drive healthy living and increase patient education
• Provide home-based care services including Home Routine Tests, Telehealth, ePrescription, drug delivery
• Simplifying disease management through various disease management tools
• Connect patients and HCPs for adherence and improved patient outcomes
• Bridge the gaps in the patient journey

Hub stakeholders:  

AI start-ups (Qure.ai), health technology companies (Gendius, Iqvia, Qure, Axios), local health authorities (Dubai Health Authority, Dubai; Department of Health, Abu Dhabi), start-up incubators (G42).

Hub solutions and activities:

AI solutions, digital apps, digital partnerships, disease education and support (diabetes and immunotherapy), home care, medical training, telehealth, unified ecosystem for HCP and patient services.

Examples of hub solutions and activities:

• Stage Shift of Lung Cancer Diagnosis using AI – AstraZeneca is driving healthcare innovation with an AI x-ray for lung cancer diagnosis, powered by Qure-ai. The qCT-Lung technology supports screening programmes and facilitates incidental screening for the early detection of lung cancer, using AI to help improve patient outcomes at an individual, HCP, payer, and healthcare system level. Now being used across the globe, it was the GCC Hub that first developed and introduced this capability to AstraZeneca. Locally, the technology has now been accepted by Dubai Health Authorities (DHA), and is being implemented at the DHA radiology department to go live by June 2022, It is expected that the technology will be used to scan more than 50,000 chest x-rays.
• Health EcoSystem (HealthGate & AZ EduGate) – The ecosystem connects patients and healthcare professionals for simplified health care management, comprising two capabilities: the first is AZ EduGate, a multichannel platform for physicians, with 17,000 registered users (180% of market targeted list) who benefit from continuous medical learning, CME educational programmes and remote disease management tools to track their patients; the second is Health Gate, which provides patients with an in-pocket ‘health companion’ app, offering health and wellness information, management tools, dose reminders, services, real-time report sharing and more. Both AI powered tools will generate real-world evidence in the region that will inform the management of health-related behaviours and outcomes, with both built on a modular architecture that allows for external, third-party onboarding capabilities. So far, an AI platform (Gendius), a local telehealth company (Trudoc) and nutrition partners from across the Middle East have been onboarded.

Developed in partnership with Sunway iLabs, the Malaysia-based hub has been established to support the development of a more robust primary care ecosystem and address the prevalence of NCDs. As the first such innovation hub in this location – combining the resources of a renowned academic establishment and a leading multinational pharma company – the site at Sunway iLabs will provide a strategic platform for facilitating R&D, digital and commercial collaborations with local stakeholders and start-ups, driving domestic innovation.

Key initiatives:

• Digital Health Innovation Challenge: start-ups registered in Malaysia were invited to solve healthcare challenges through new technologies and digital healthcare solutions. Six start-ups were eventually selected to receive access to Sunway iLabs’ state-of-the-art hub as a testbed for their innovative solutions, as well as a connection to resources across Sunway’s ecosystem of 13 business divisions and global partners, and the hubs across the A.Catalyst Network.

Developed in partnership with the region’s leading healthcare organisations and innovators, the Singapore-based hub seeks to utilise AI, big data and genomics technology to uplift existing healthcare capabilities. With a focus on improving the standard of care available to patients across diabetes, heart disease and cancer, the hub will play a leading role in the government’s ambition for the country to become a Smart Nation. Informed by this mission, the hub aims to bring together relevant stakeholders to reimagine the healthcare ecosystem in Singapore, and deliver valuable benefits to patients. 

Hub stakeholders:  

Academic institutions, government institutions, start-ups.

Hub solutions and activities:

Accelerator programmes, AI solutions, digital partnerships.

Examples of hub solutions and activities:

• Project AZCares – The result of an innovative partnership with Oncoshot, Project AZCares is a locally-grown solution for streamlining the recruitment process for our clinical trials, ensuring that the right patients are directed to the right AstraZeneca trial.
• Genomics collaboration – In collaboration with local academic and research institutions and the Centre for Genomic Research, AstraZeneca Singapore are to launch a genomics project that aims to evolve our understanding in this field, making further scientific progress possible.

The Australia & New Zealand hub was launched in December 2020 as a virtual health, open innovation hub. It will drive better patient outcomes and experiences by developing internal innovation capabilities, solving critical patient journey pain points and supporting the vibrant growth of the local healthcare innovation ecosystem.

Hub stakeholders:
Government trade organisations, research institutes, start-up companies, universities.

Hub solutions and activities:
Accelerator programmes, digital partnerships, mentorship.

Examples of hub solutions and activities:

• AZ Exchange Mentoring Programme – Partnership with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) to launch the AZ Exchange mentoring programme. Through this partnership, AstraZeneca and the UNSW will support the development of early-stage life science and medical technology companies, advancing a commitment to build a thriving healthcare innovation ecosystem in Australia. 
• Healthcare Bootcamp to support business expansion – Partnership with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (AUSTRADE) and CSIRO, Australia’s premier Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to support Australian healthcare start-up companies to expand to other markets. To date, this annual bootcamp has helped 32 start-up companies to evaluate six Asian markets for expansion.