The Launch Of Cloudhealth Genomics One Belt, One Road Initiative, A Precision Medicine Collaboration With The Mongolian Health Initiative

ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA and SHANGHAI, CHINA--(Marketwired - June 09, 2017) - CloudHealth Genomics, one of the world’s fastest growing genomics-based precision medicine and scientific wellness solution’s company, and the Mongolian Health Initiative (MHI), a NGO, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on population-based public health interventions. The shared aim is to advance precision medicine for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of nutritional deficiencies and reducing nutrition-related diseases including TB and cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Mongolians are traditionally nomadic people whose diet is mostly animal products, that is because of their poor soil quality and geography. The combination imbalances in agriculture and the food supply, compounded by sudden shifts in dietary and physical activity patterns brought about by Mongolia’s recent economic growth, have contributed to an unhealthy nutritional landscape. In recent reports, Mongolia had the highest national fraction of age-standardized cardiovascular disease-burden attributable to dietary imbalance, and the highest mortality for both genders attributable to low fruit consumption, low vegetable consumption, and low fiber consumption in the world. Rapid urbanization, adoption of indoor occupations, has led to the rise in obesity, type II diabetes, and other lifestyle-related diseases, which are juxtaposed with the “double-burden” of widespread deficiencies of multiple micronutrients, particularly among children and women of reproductive age.

The signing the MOU between CloudHealth Genomics and MHI took place during the Central Eurasian Nutrition Forum, which was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (June7-10) and signed by Uyanga Buyanjargal, Executive Director of MHI and Jason Gang Jin, CEO and Founder of CloudHealth Genomics. CloudHealth saw an opportunity to cross borders and integrate precision medicine as part of an ongoing effort of China’s One Belt, One Road Initiative, which is to create the world’s largest economic platform for economic cooperation, including policy coordination, trade and financing collaboration, and social and cultural cooperation.

“This agreement between the CloudHealth and MHI will encourage and support strategic science-driven collaboration between two neighboring countries to catalyze innovation in biomedical research in dietary, nutrition-related diseases and other diseases,” said Jason Gang Jin, CEO and Founder of CloudHealth. “This will evolve to the development of new cost-effective diagnostics to monitor and guide treatment of the dietary habits and associated diseases for the whole country and beyond.”

“Through this collaboration with CloudHealth, we see the immediate benefit of additional joint research efforts with scientific leaders in China in nutrition and infectious diseases, combined with CloudHealth’s infrastructure in sequencing technology and data analyses. This will only help the people of Mongolia be healthier and in the mid- to long-term, provide insights and time for our country to improve existing healthcare infrastructure and how we communicate with our nomadic communities,” said Uyanga Buyanjargal, Executive Director of MHI.

Dr. Ganmaa Davaasambuu, Founder of MHI and Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T. C. Chan School of Public Health stated, “Dietary imbalances have been and remain the most prominent risk factor for disease and premature mortality in Mongolia and Central Eurasian Region, and collaboration with CloudHealth and its network will only accelerate improved outcomes for the people in our region, which eventually lead to favorable public health policies as a result of our ongoing efforts.”

Winston Patrick Kuo, CTO of CloudHealth Genomics, said, “As a scientific advisor of MHI, I really see the One Belt, One Road as a huge global ‘big data’ healthcare infrastructure opportunity for ethnic- population-based cohorts studies for a variety of diseases that are not necessary connected to neighboring countries, but countries on different continents.” Dr. Kuo added, “The relationship between CloudHealth and MHI will provide emerging countries to leapfrog the dynamic landscape of disruptive and emerging technologies, couple with integrated data analytics needed for the massive amounts of data generated by these approaches.”

“A healthy community is an ecosystem in which we are trying to achieve, given the current nutritional circumstances” added Dr. Davaasambuu. MHI has taken the leadership in assessing the nutritional resources and needs, and working closely with government to provide public health and social infrastructure, as well as amending current policies to support a healthier community, and where essential public health services, including quality health care. Dr. Davaasambuu added, “In a healthy community, communication and collaboration among various sectors of the community and the contributions of ethnically, socially, and economically diverse community members are much needed as demonstrated by the representation of participant during our first Central Eurasian Nutrition Forum and strategic collaboration with CloudHealth Genomics.” On the same note, Altankhuyag Dugaraa, a Mongolian celebrity and Mongolia’s representative of cultural envoy, sponsored a fundraiser, “ZERO TB UB” during the conference by combining arts and sciences to eradicate TB. Mr. Dugaraa added, “We need more academic and industry international collaborations, and one example is the MOU with CloudHealth Genomics and MHI that will enable Mongolians to live a healthier and productive life.”

This MOU will promote future public-private partnerships/collaborations in identifying biomarkers for nutrition-related diseases for the purpose of advancing science and identifying new diagnostic indications and development and implementation of new therapies that would serve the best interest of Mongolia and globally, and that this program could serve as a model for other similar future collaborations. The data and results from this collaboration will be made public through publications and public-sharing databases, to enable open and disruptive innovation.

About CloudHealth Genomics

CloudHealth Genomics, Ltd., based in Shanghai, is the leading company in China focused on whole genome tests and providing genomics-based precision medicine and scientific wellness solutions. The company prides itself in having a certified clinical genetic testing lab and a high throughput sequencing center (HiSeq X10 platform, NovaSeq 6000s and PacBio Sequels). CloudHealth Genomics is part of a larger CloudHealth Medical Group ecosystem, comprising of CloudHealth Life Center, CloudHealth High-End Clinic Center, CloudHealth Big Data Center, CloudHealth Genomics Research Institute, Academician Experts Workstation and CloudHealth Club of Medical Doctors. For more information, visit http://en.chgenomics.com (English) or www.CHgenomics.com (Chinese).

About the Mongolian Health Initiative

The Mongolian Health Initiative (MHI) is first and foremost a research organization that is at the forefront of Non-Governmental Organizations in the nation of Mongolia that seeks to address major health issues in the Mongolian region. MHI focuses on pressing health issues such as the prevalence of tuberculosis, the deficiency of Vitamin D, and the deficiency of various other micronutrients in Mongolia. In addition to research, MHI is involved in the development of health service delivery systems, research-capacity infrastructure, public health issues and early screening for latent TB infection in vulnerable groups amongst the population.