BEIJING, May 29, 2014 — Janssen Pharmaceutical (Janssen) and Tsinghua University jointly launched the 2014 Tsinghua-Janssen Public Health Day at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Marking the 4^th consecutive year of Tsinghua-Janssen collaboration in their common battle against infectious disease since 2011, this year’s event revolved around the theme of “Innovation and Partnership for Healthier Breathing,” so as to jointly explore solutions for the prevention and control of respiratory diseases that are increasingly threating public health. It was announced at today’s event that an additional group of 30 physicians and scientists will participate in the Tsinghua-Janssen Joint Research Center’s research program, which is another important milestone in the expanding innovative partnership between Tsinghua and Janssen.
 
Respiratory diseases, such as the flu, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, and diseases caused by environmental changes, are presenting a growing challenge to the international health community. The situation is much the same in China where the high and rising prevalence, as well as the infectious nature of respiratory diseases has created a grave threat to the health of the public. According to Beijing Municipal Bureau of Health, in the third week (Jan 13-19) of 2014, of the 880,646 clinic and emergency patients in the city’s Grade II and above hospitals, 2.8% (24,658) were with flu like symptoms, which is higher than the previous week’s numbers  when 21,856 patients with flu like symptoms accounted for 2.58% of all patients.^[1] China has approximately 43 million patients suffering from COPD^[2], while around 20 million patients have been diagnosed with asthma^[3]. Meanwhile, environmental changes, especially smog, is severely affecting public health, as it can worsen chronic diseases, heart diseases, respiratory diseases and even change the structure and function of lungs. Air pollution is reported to have caused nearly 350,000-500,000 premature deaths annually in China in recent years^[4]. As a result of these alarming developments, the national government has increasingly emphasized the importance of respiratory disease control. China's Chronic Disease Prevention and Control Work Plan (2012-2015), co-published by a panel of 15 government ministries, including the Ministry of Health, clearly states that chronic respiratory diseases are among the nation’s most urgent health priorities.
 
In order to cope with respiratory health challenges and lead in response to the government’s call to action, the 2014 Tsinghua–Janssen Public Health Day is convening leading government officials, respiratory health experts and academics to jointly discuss the topic and share their expertise and insights.
 
Key participants at today’s event included Wang Chen, Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Sciences, Technology and Education, NHFPC; Wang Yu, Director of the Chinese Center For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC); Xue Qikun, Vice President, Tsinghua University; Shi Yigong, Professor and Dean of the School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University; Cesar Rodriguez, President of Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd; and Zhao Dayao, Vice President and Head of Janssen China R&D, as well as a number of top scholars and experts in the field of respiratory diseases.
 
Wang Chen, Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Sciences, Technology and Education, NHFPC, stressed the urgent situation of respiratory diseases in China. “The high-incidence of respiratory infections and the prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases are leading to grave public health challenges.” Wang Chen advocated greater common engagement among participants to fulfill these unmet medical needs and pursue the development of innovative medical solutions.
 
Participants noted that the control and prevention of respiratory diseases could not be accomplished by an independent institution, but required the cooperation of all actors present at the event. Wang Yu, Director of the CDC remarked that: “Under the guidance of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China, CDC has rolled out a series of initiatives to develop strategic research for the prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases, such as the establishment of 409 network laboratories and 554 sentinel surveillance hospitals for influenza research. However, we still expect that joint efforts from the government, research institutions, universities and pharmaceutical companies will play a major role in combatting these significant challenges brought about by infectious diseases.”   
 
Shi Yigong, Professor and Dean of the School of Life Sciences at Tsinghua University expressed that: “With the outstanding research and innovation capabilities of Tsinghua University, we have been glad to make a positive contribution in the fight against infectious diseases in the last few years through a productive and ever deepening partnership with Xian Janssen, which is an exemplary collaboration between enterprises and universities for innovative research.”
 
Cesar Rodriguez, President of Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical Ltd, stated that: “by forging a strong partnership with a leading Chinese research institute, the Tsinghua-Janssen collaboration best exemplifies our external innovation strategy. With our innovative leadership in the field of infectious diseases, and through platforms such as the Public Health Day that facilitate the exchange of ideas with the wider community and provide us with deep local insights, we are fulfilling our commitment to provide Chinese patients with innovative medicines and make a difference in their lives.”
 
 
For more information, please contact:
 
Contact person: Maggie Sun
Contact number: 8610 5821 8458
E-Mail: ysun31@ITS.JNJ.COM
Contact person: Queena Huang
Contact number: 8610 5821 1441
E-Mail: jhuang5@ITS.JNJ.COM