World Health Day FAQ: How Global Science is Having Clinical Impact

1. Can artificial intelligence (AI) help doctors treat cancer more effectively?

Leading cancer institutions such as MD Anderson and SOPHiA GENETICS have teamed up to use AI to interpret complex genetic data. The partnership focuses on creating a scalable bioinformatics infrastructure specifically designed for rapid, global deployment. Employing AI to simplify the interpretation of complex genetic data helps translate laboratory results into consistent clinical tools that doctors can use at the bedside. Such a collaboration can help bring leading precision medicine technologies to all geographies quickly and at scale, allowing patients in lower-resource settings to benefit from advanced oncology breakthroughs.

2. How do global partnerships improve access to infant vaccines?

International collaborations between groups like South Korea-based SK bioscience and the Gates Medical Research Institute aim to provide life-saving prevention for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to infants in low-income countries. This partnership focuses on making advanced medical research affordable and available to underserved regions where the burden of disease is highest.

3. How does automation speed up life-saving cell therapies?

Cellares and Stanford University are developing automated systems to produce potentially curative gene therapies more reliably. They are also working to standardize end-to-end automated manufacturing and release testing workflows to ensure consistent gene insertion across multiple therapeutic programs. By standardizing manufacturing through automation, the partners hope to move laboratory research to the clinic faster while reducing the high costs that often limit patient access.

4. How do international deals bring new cancer treatments to Japan?

Partnerships between companies like Japan-based Eisai and China-based Shanghai Henlius Biotech allow innovative treatments that have already been proven in China and Europe to be brought to patients in Japan. This strategy addresses high unmet medical needs by pairing international clinical data with local execution expertise.

5. Why are large companies investing billions in global research hubs?

With a $15 billion commitment to build an end-to-end cell therapy hub in China, AstraZeneca illustrates a trend of anchoring future innovation and manufacturing within diverse international ecosystems. Such investments help deliver next-generation treatments, such as cell therapy, to patients internationally while aligning with local healthcare priorities.

6. How can digital data accelerate the discovery of new medicines?

Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, and the Mayo Clinic are integrating high-quality clinical data with AI models to better identify targets for new drugs. The partnership uses the Mayo Clinic Platform to aggregate de-identified clinical, molecular, imaging, and genomic data, which Merck then integrates with AI-enabled virtual cell modeling to refine biological hypotheses and improve the accuracy of target identification early in the discovery process. Their collaborative approach is intended to redefine drug development by using digital tools to gain more answers and achieve better outcomes for patients worldwide.

7. What role do trade relations play in secure medicine supply chains?

Strategic collaborations, such as the one between Agenus and Zydus Lifesciences, strengthen global supply chains and accelerate the clinical development of immunotherapies for colorectal cancer. Specifically, the Agenus-Zydus partnership secures dedicated US biologics manufacturing capacity in California and accelerates clinical development of the botensilimab and balstilimab immunotherapy combination for metastatic colorectal cancer. These international ties ensure that manufacturing capacity is secure at critical moments for therapeutic delivery.

8. How do international joint ventures reduce the risk of clinical trials?

Joint ventures like the one between US-based HCW Biologics and China-based WY Biotech allow companies to share the financial risks and costs of early clinical research. This model helps accelerate the initial testing of new treatments for solid tumors in China while preparing them for future global expansion.

9. How are international teams tackling aggressive brain cancer?

US-based INOVIO and China-based Akeso are collaborating on clinical trials for glioblastoma, combining different types of immunotherapy (DNA-encoding platform with a bispecific antibody) to overcome the disease's resistance. By working with world-class cancer centers, they aim to quickly advance cutting-edge treatments for patients who currently have few effective options.