Recently, Wondfo Bio and Merck, a leading global technology company, held a globalization cooperation seminar and unanimously decided to deepen the cooperation on the basis of the pilot cooperation in the previous period, expanding the project coverage area and the population, and joining hands to enhance the accessibility of the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid diseases at the grassroots level in the world.
On July 21st, the globalization cooperation seminar between Wondfo and Merck was held at Wondfo 's Shenzhou Road Campus in Guangzhou. The seminar reviewed the situation of the previous pilot project and discussed the deepening of the cooperation to promote the project to cover a larger area and benefit a wider range of people.
Thyroid disease is the second largest disease in the endocrine field, with the number of patients worldwide exceeding 300 million and increasing year by year, and the incidence rate of thyroid disease in China's adult population is as high as 50.96%. However, the symptoms of thyroid disease are hidden and not easy to be detected. Meanwhile, women are the most frequent group of thyroid disease, and the prevalence rate of women is much higher than that of men, and the knowledge rate of thyroid disease among women who are preparing for pregnancy is only 6%.
On February 25, 2022, Wondfo Bio and Merck China signed a strategic cooperation agreement to help improve the diagnosis and treatment capacity of thyroid diseases at the grassroots level in China by leveraging their respective strengths in the field of thyroid disease treatment and in vitro diagnostics industry.
Subsequently, Wondfo and Merck China joined hands to carry out grassroots-oriented thyroid disease education and public welfare screening activities. As of June 30, 2023, the partnership has held hundreds of public welfare screening activities, providing nearly 10,000 people with thyroid screening, covering seven provinces in China, effectively promoting early detection and treatment of patients with thyroid diseases, and bringing tangible treatment benefits to patients.
Back in 2019, Wondfo Bio worked with Merck Indonesia to carry out the world's first pilot cooperation. With the joint efforts of both parties, the detection and diagnosis rates of thyroid diseases in local remote areas have been improved to a certain extent.
In July 2023, in order to further strengthen the capacity for diagnostic and treatment integration, Wondfo Bio and Merck officially launched the National Thyroid Screening Program in conjunction with the local physicians' association (Ikatan Dokter Indonesia) and the Indonesian Ministry of Health (Kemenkes). The first phase of the program is expected to provide thyroid screening to nearly 150,000 people, covering key regions such as Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan and Sulawesi.
Pilot projects in Mexico, the Philippines and Malaysia are also underway, and have been well received and evaluated. Based on the good results of the program, Wondfo Bio and Merck had an in-depth discussion on the continuation of the cooperation and the expansion of the service scope of the program on the same day. In order to promote the benefits of the cooperation to a wider range of people, the two sides decided to further expand the globalization of in-depth cooperation, and jointly help improve the global diagnosis and treatment capacity of thyroid diseases.