Europe-China cooperation in personalised medicine: paving the way for a scientific common path [Promoted content]

The Sino-EU PerMed project aimed to widen the political and scientific cooperation between China and the EU in the field of personalised medicine (PM). To achieve this goal, an active dialogue between the different stakeholders was crucial.

This op-ed was written by Fondazione Toscana Life Sciences on behalf of the SINO-EU PerMed project. 

The project organised three delegation visits for European as well as Chinese scientists in this field. While the first two visits focused on science and technology, the third visit focused on ethical, legal and social aspects (ELSA). The aim of the visits was to discuss the main obstacles and challenges of cooperation between the two regions and to establish a network of contacts that would facilitate the development of cooperation projects, with the Chinese and European colleagues serving as multipliers and amplifiers in future negotiations on joint projects. In spring 2023, a Chinese delegation visited research institutes and hospitals in Munich and Milan. There was a lot of interaction and exchange in each institution visited. Scientific discussions were stimulated and led to innovative ideas, and participants exchanged contacts for future collaborations. The positive results underline the importance of international exchange for the progress of Personalised Medicine. A delegation visit by European scientists to Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai followed in autumn 2023. Overall, the visit was successful in promoting scientific exchange and cooperation in the field of Personalised Medicine. The warm welcome, high-level discussions and joint meetings at each location demonstrated the importance of sharing knowledge and expertise across borders.  

The last delegation visit of European ELSA experts to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen followed in spring 2024. Already during the preparations for the visit, it became clear that the implementation of Personalised Medicine faces challenges not only in terms of science and technology, but also in terms of ELSA. The success of PM-based endeavors requires that good solutions are found for these aspects. 

Based on the last delegation visit and discussions with experts in the field of ELSA, the project has prepared a policy brief. The document addresses three topics:  

1) Why is ELSA important for the development and implementation of Personalised Medicine?  

2) Legal and regulatory aspects: the health data perspective and  

3) Ethical and societal perspectives.  

The development of PM by researchers and clinicians in China and Europe raises a number of ethical, legal and societal challenges. These challenges can be further complicated when different legal frameworks, socio-economic inequalities and socio-cultural norms and values collide in the context of research collaboration between Chinese and European scientists, clinicians, policy makers, industry and societal partners such as patient organisations. It goes without saying that the patient is at the absolute center of Personalised Medicine, as such approaches aim at the well-being of the patient. Consequently, the associated health data must be handled in an ethical and regulatory manner that protects the privacy and autonomy of the patient. Furthermore, equal access to healthcare should be guaranteed as far as possible. In this context, it is necessary to obtain the agreement and commitment of decision-makers to ensure equality in the implementation of PM.  

The policy brief aims to provide recommendations to all these aspects, also in the bi-regional context between Europe and China.  

The project has made valuable contributions to the implementation of Personalised Medicine over the past 4.5 years. The Sino-EU-PerMed project would like to invite the expert community working in the field of Personalised Medicine to continue working on these fronts to better address these important issues.