BGI Group to co-develop “International Innovation Center for Life Science” with Thai government
Wang Jian, Chairman & Co-founder of BGI Group, announces his recent visit to Thailand to speak to General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Thailand, and discuss medical genomics and the development of life sciences with the public sector and other organizations.
Wang Jian expressed the hope to seek cooperation between government organizations and partners in Thailand to establish the “International Innovation Center for Life Science” in Thailand in the future, positioning Thailand as a regional hub for medical genomics, and a center for treating thalassemia, and actively preparing to provide relevant services available to the Thai public.
Additionally, Wang Jian met with Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Health, and Sathit Pitutecha, Deputy Minister of Public Health to discuss the expansion of cooperation with the public health system and further development of life sciences in Thailand.
“We truly believe that the creation of the “International Innovation Center for Life Science” will be finally achieved, because Thailand has many internationally recognized medical teams and a high level of medical advancement and standards,” he said. “Additionally, Thailand has national policies that support development in the field of genomics. As a result, we are confident that both parties will expand their collaboration in a variety of ways, such as expertise, education, and personnel training and exchange with the assistance of related organizations.”
“As the old saying goes, ‘Teaching people how to fish is more effective than giving a fish to them.’ This cooperation will enable the younger generations to keep pace with the development of cutting-edge technologies and enable the world’s leading modern technologies to serve Thailand and benefit the Thai public,” he added.
Wang Jian stated that BGI and Chalermchai Sri-on, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, has discussed further cooperation around development, innovation and research. BGI has achieved success cases in many areas of China, and developed the rice technology to grow rice that can be sowed once and harvested multiple times over three to five years. This perennial rice features the reduction of the cost on seeds, fertilizer and water. Energy consumption such as labor force and other resource requirements will be reduced, resulting in a decrease in carbon emissions and global warming. Both parties will further make discussion in terms of this study.
“Over the past twenty years, I have held onto the ideal and the belief that Omics for all and related technologies will benefit mankind. BGI has its own unique strategic thinking in scientific development, technological innovation and industrial development. Additionally, we actively encourage innovation in talent and technology, and reduce industrial costs by way of large-scale development, thus reducing the incidence of diseases, and making everyone enjoy a healthy life. BGI plans to cooperate with government organizations and partners in Thailand to conduct preventive screening for genetic diseases and realize the prevention and control of cancer with genetic technology. Besides, we offer assistance in having control over infectious diseases around the world, and achieving the purpose of benefiting mankind in an in-depth way,” he said.
BGI, headquartered in Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China, established in 1999, is committed to taking part in the Human Genome Project. It has over 10,000 employees in 100 countries and regions worldwide. It has published more than 4,000 research papers, more than 400 of which appear in leading scientific journals, such as Nature, Science, Cell, and New England Journal of Medicine. Moreover, it obtained more than 1,700 patents. BGI Genomics, a subsidiary of BGI, has been listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. MGI Tech Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of BGI, has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2022. According to 2022 Nature Index, BGI ranks eighth globally and first among life science industrial institutions in the Asia-Pacific region.
To combat the pandemic that has raged around the world in recent years, BGI performs pathogen genome sequencing and has successfully developed a diagnostic kit for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which has been recognized internationally and approved for its use worldwide. In addition, BGI sequenced and successfully developed a diagnostic kit for both SARS virus and avian influenza in 2000 and 2004, respectively.
