At every edition of the CIIE, the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products Exhibition Area is always full of fresh innovations, featuring a large number of high-tech debut products. It consistently ranks as one of the most popular exhibition zones, attracting considerable attention with its many first launches, shows, and demonstrations.

In 2023, Gilead Sciences, a global leader in biopharmaceuticals, participated in the CIIE for the second time. Transitioning from a "first-time exhibitor" to a "returning participant", Gilead expanded the size of its booth fivefold, doubled the area for showcasing its innovative products, and set up a dedicated section for its research pipeline. This area focused on presenting Gilead's global R&D pipeline and its clinical research and product launch plans in China.

Gilead Sciences exhibit booth at the 6th CIIE. [Photo/Gilead Sciences]

In 2024, Gilead Sciences joined the CIIE for the third time, further expanding its "suitcase". At its 500-square-meter booth, the company again showcased its growing product portfolio and innovative achievements, fully demonstrating its strength in medical innovation and its exceptional collaborations with partners to benefit Chinese patients. The exhibits covered key areas such as virology, oncology, and mycology, with several investigational drugs being unveiled for the first time.

"CIIE Babies"

Headquartered in Foster City, California, Gilead operates in more than 35 countries and regions worldwide. In 2017, the company officially launched its commercial operations in China. Over the past seven years, 11 of Gilead's globally leading drugs have been approved in China, with 8 of them included in the national medical insurance catalog.

China is one of Gilead's three most important strategic markets globally. Having participated in the CIIE, Gilead has witnessed the expo's spillover effects and experienced the rapid launch of its exhibited medicines.

In the Medical Equipment and Healthcare Products Exhibition Area, exhibitors are accustomed to affectionately referring to innovative drugs and devices that have transitioned from exhibits to products through the CIIE and are being used in China as "CIIE babies".

Visitors at the Gilead Sciences exhibit booth. [Photo/Gilead Sciences]

Every year, following the CIIE, a batch of these "CIIE babies" is born. After Gilead's debut at the 2022 CIIE, it successfully gained its own "CIIE babies", including two new drugs in the antifungal and oncology fields. One of them, Ambisome®, an antifungal medicine, was approved by China's National Medical Products Administration just three months after the expo, demonstrating the "Chinese speed" of making innovative drugs accessible faster.

At the 6th CIIE in 2023, Gilead's "star product" planned for the Chinese market, Lenacapavir, a long-acting HIV drug, made its debut and attracted significant attention.

Jim Jin believes that the CIIE plays a vital role in accelerating the overall process of bringing innovative drugs to market, becoming a true "accelerator" for pharmaceutical innovation.

Expanding "Ecosystem"

After participating the expo, Gilead has found that the CIIE has subtly become an "accelerator" driving its growth in China. Through this open platform, Gilead continues to strengthen collaboration and exchange with various partners.

At the 5th CIIE, Gilead partnered with the Chinese Foundation for Prevention of STD and AIDS to launch a 3-year Hepatitis C case followup and management project, supporting the national effort to eliminate Hepatitis C as a public health threat.

At the 6th CIIE, Gilead signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese Foundation for Prevention of STD and AIDS and Control to promote a rapid HIV treatment initiation project, encouraging early access to standardized care for those with HIV. Additionally, it partnered with the CSCO Foundation to establish the "CSCO-Gilead Oncology Research Fund", aimed at advancing research in the oncology field.

Gilead's products showcased at the CIIE. [Photo/Gilead Sciences]

These projects are vivid examples of Gilead's deepening win-win collaboration with China's healthcare ecosystem through the CIIE. Jim Jin noted that Gilead looks forward to further expanding its "circle of friends" in the medical ecosystem via the CIIE platform.

Increasing R&D Investment

As an essential platform for foreign enterprises to seize opportunities in China, the CIIE has become a critical channel for leading global pharmaceutical companies to connect with the Chinese market. Through its participation in the CIIE, Gilead has experienced firsthand the "exhibit to product" effect of the platform and witnessed China's determination to share development opportunities with the world. This has further strengthened Gilead's confidence in deepening its roots in the Chinese market and advancing local pharmaceutical innovation.

Gilead's "CIIE babies". [Photo/Gilead Sciences]

Today, an international consensus has been reached that the Chinese market has become a market for the world. Since 2022, Gilead China has vigorously invested in local research and development, initiating multiple clinical research projects, including Phase III clinical trials in sync with global research, covering various diseases in the fields of oncology and virology. The aim is to promote more innovative therapies to be "synchronously" launched in the Chinese market, benefiting more patients in need.

Jim Jin, Gilead Sciences' Global vice-president and general manager of China, at the CIIE. [Photo/Gilead Sciences]

Gilead is committed to breaking through the impossible. Jim Jin stated that Gilead will continue to focus on patients and explore innovative cooperation with various partners, enhance multi-channel development, improve the accessibility of marketed drugs, and consistently build its local R&D capabilities, allowing more innovative medicines to benefit Chinese patients as early as possible.

Fan Yubin

(Translated by Chen Xu)