Twenty-six years ago, when Boehringer Ingelheim decided to settle in Shanghai, who could have imagined the healthcare landscape we have here today?

Nowadays, China has grown into the second largest healthcare market. As outlined in the "Healthy China 2030" blueprint, continued reform has greatly shortened the approval process for new medicines, allowing innovative therapies to accelerate entries to China, almost simultaneously with the United States and Europe. At the same time, the country is consolidating its multi-level health security system to guarantee accessible and affordable medical care for all citizens.

These changes have signaled that China is catching up quickly. Global healthcare has traditionally been more US- and Euro-centric, but today it needs to be more China-centric, whether from a geopolitical, economic or industry standpoint.

As the country opens up for more innovation in the healthcare sector, numerous opportunities will emerge for multinational companies to further tap the unmet needs in medical science, as well as the vast market potential. It feels both exciting and challenging to take part in this transformative journey. For me personally, there is no better place to be currently!

For Boehringer Ingelheim, despite prevalent COVID-19 impact, we reported a 20.5 percent year-on-year growth in the Chinese market in 2020, outperforming other major regional markets worldwide. Powered by this robust engine, we are more poised than ever before to fully deliver on our commitment to China and the Chinese patients.

Innovation has been the key word embedded in Boehringer Ingelheim's genes. As a family-owned business, we pursue a long-term vision in terms of both developing next-generation breakthrough therapies and building partnerships in the life sciences community to foster innovation.

In 2020, the company stepped up efforts to enhance its innovation capabilities in terms of innovative products and services. With the launch of "China Key" strategy, Boehringer Ingelheim becomes the first and only foreign enterprise to have China fully participate in all of our global early-stage clinical trials, which is expected to accelerate the approval of new products or new indications in China in the next decade. The company also launched Total Stroke Solution in China that covers prevention, detection, first aid, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, recurrence prevention and disease education, providing a whole-course disease management.

However, innovation is not exclusively about molecules. It happens everywhere. We must also look at innovation beyond that, whether it is go-to-market models, digital models, multichannel models and so on.