Asia Embracing New Technologies for Better Healthcare

Bruce Liu, Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners

New technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and large language models (LLM), have long been expected to transform the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. While some promises are yet to materialize, others are already making their way into drug development, disease screening, and diagnosis and treatment. In many areas, Asia stands at the forefront of these emerging technologies.

For one thing, the Hong Kong stock market (HKEX) saw the first listing of an AI drug discovery company in June. According to its prospectus, XtalPi combines quantum physics-based first-principle calculations, AI, high-performance cloud computing, and scalable robotic automation for drug discovery services. Its clients include pharma giants such as Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, as well as Asian biotech companies and research institutions.

There could be more AI drug discovery companies on the way. Insilico Medicine, for example, recently published a paper in Nature Biotechnology on its AI-generated drug candidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The drug candidate took 18 months to develop, cost 90% less than a conventional program, and has completed a Phase I clinical trial with a validated safety and pharmacokinetics profile. While most AI-powered drug candidates are still years away from crossing the finish line, the changes new technologies are bringing to the industry are unmistakable.

AI has also become instrumental in disease screening and diagnosis. An AI tool for eye imaging, SELENA+, was first introduced in Singapore for early detection of diabetic retinopathy. Since then, it has received regulatory approvals in several Southeast Asian markets, as well as Australia, Brazil, and South Africa. Through partnerships and collaborations with medical institutions, health ministries, and optometry clinics, it has started to generate revenue from Asia and beyond.

Another innovative tool combining 3D visualization and AI analytics, Cliniface has been adopted to identify unusual facial phenotypes associated with rare diseases using Human Phenotype Ontology standards. First developed by Australia’s Curtin University, Cliniface has received endorsements from SingHealth, a Singapore healthcare cluster, and pharma giant Takeda for the screening and diagnosis of hereditary angioedema. This ensures patients receive timely interventions to prevent potentially fatal progression.

LLMs have also proven to be powerful in disease detection and diagnosis. Children’s Hospital of Soochow University has developed an LLM-based clinical decision support system for Gaucher disease, a rare condition known for its high misdiagnosis rate and delayed triage. By processing the extensive information already stored in electronic medical records, the system can identify patients with high-risk factors and help doctors provide more efficient diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing monitoring.

When it comes to surgeries, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality tools have found their way into operating rooms. Hainan Medical University hospital recently performed an Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion procedure with AR-guided imaging, and 3D AR glasses were used for the first time to examine anatomic structure, locate lesion site, and minimize damages to surrounding tissue and organs. The procedure was a great success, as it was completed 50% faster than conventional surgery with 100% accuracy.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) has been in the limelight globally, with China, Japan, Korea, and India among the leaders for research and publications, together with the US and Germany. BCI provides direct communication between brain and external devices, such as computers and robotic limbs, by linking the brain’s electrical activity and the external environment through the new interface. Some Asian companies are making great progress in helping patients communicate and interact with the outside world, while others are working to restore lost sensory or motor functions in neurodegenerative patients. Besides invasive brain implants, many are focusing on minimally invasive and non-invasive BCI as the next frontier, as these would enable easier adoption for a broad range of applications across ALS, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsies, and spinal cord injuries.

For many of the emerging tools to fully deliver on their promises, more collaborations across sectors and borders are needed, toward developing common ethics standards and safety protocols, sharing the latest data and progress, and benefiting all patients in need. After all, disease knows no borders, and neither should the solution.

- Justinian Liu in Simon-Kucher’s China Life Sciences division contributed to this article.

Bruce Liu is Partner at Simon-Kucher & Partners, leading its life sciences division in greater China