I’ve lived in the United States for more than 30 years but I was born and raised in Shanghai, China where I still have family, some of whom are suffering or have succumb to diseases such as lung cancer. Cancer is a leading cause of death in China with more than 40% of all lung, liver and gastric cancer in the world occurring there. I’m working to make a difference for all who suffer from those diseases.
I recently returned to China to encourage and promote the benefits of collaboration between health authorities, competitors, healthcare systems, providers, NGO’s, global health organizations and most importantly - patients - to advance the introduction of safe and effective medical devices that address unmet patient needs within China and around the world.
While I represented the Johnson & Johnson Medical Device Companies (JJMDC) at the China International Medical Device Regulatory Forum (CIMDR) in Fuzhou and the International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF) in Beijing, I really came to represent patients from around the world looking to the medical devices industry for relief.
The CIMDR Forum is one of the premier regulatory exchange events in the world. As Head of R&D for JJMDC, I had the privilege of opening the conference with this simple message – We Must Work Together.
I emphasized the importance of partnership and raised the need to develop harmonized and converged approaches to the regulation of medical products, stressing that regulators and industry must partner to ensure an efficient and effective system is utilized to serve patients across jurisdictions.
I delivered a similar message a few days later at IMDRF to a group of medical device regulators from around the world who voluntarily come together to harmonize their varying regulatory requirements for medical products.
To drive my point home, I recited a famous Chinese proverb that says…
独木不成林,单弦不成音
A single tree does not make a forest; a single string cannot make music.
No one company or country can adequately address on their own the challenges that patients face. We are stronger and more likely to succeed when we work together. Bringing together the best minds and critical thinkers to discuss and exchange ideas, brainstorm new approaches and pathways, and develop innovative solutions to emerging challenges is the only way we’ll make real progress against these diseases and conditions in China and around the world.
