In today’s talking points: Australia’s Weet-Bix now on China’s breakfast tables; Australian aged care providers advised to enter Chinese market early and slowly; Australian tablet to relieve sufferings from gluten-intolerance; Baidu’s “Medical Brain” to improve care for patients
Australia’s Weet-Bix now on China’s breakfast tables
Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing – Australian company of Weet-Bix is launching an international brand, Nutri-Brex, into the Chinese domestic market, in response to a growing trend for Western-style breakfast cereals in China. Sales of Weet-Bix has grown after appearing on Chinese TV soap, with more and more people buying it in supermarkets and sending packets to China. The company will enter the e-commerce channels, including Alibaba’s TMall platform, to sell its products. This represents a huge boost in Australia’s clean, green image and excellent food safety standards.
Read more at: Business Insider
Australian aged care providers advised to enter Chinese market early and slowly
The growing population of middle class gave Australian aged care providers opportunities to enter the market, in areas such as facility design and operation, smart health and broad health. It is estimated that in 2020 there will be 248 million seniors in China, and an increasing number of them would demand better and higher quality goods and services. It is therefore important for Australian healthcare providers to avoid rushing in the market, and take time finding the right partner. Baptcare is one of the Australian providers that capitalised on the opportunities in China, after signing a new partnership with Shanghai government agency to develop skills of Chinese aged care professionals.
Read more at: Australia Ageing Agenda
Australian tablet to relieve sufferings from gluten-intolerance
Melbourne-based scientists developed a tablet that reduces the effects of coeliac disease. It has been announced that the tablet will be made commercially available. The pre-meal tablet containing an enzyme from the papaya fruit, protects patients with coeliac disease, an auto-immune disorder which affects the small intestine, from the health problems associated with ingesting gluten. The Royal Melbourne Hospital’s Head of Colorectal Medicine and Genetics and leader of the clinical trials Finlay Macrae said the pill enables to protect patients against damage to the stomach lining, as well as chronic skin conditions associated with the disease. The pill was developed by Australian biopharmaceutical company Glutage. The Glutage’s product would provide a safety net against the two most common types of injury in coeliac patients. Ted Stelmasiak, executive director of Glutage, said it took “several decades” of testing the pill at Melbourne’s Bio 21 institute to reach this point.
Read more at: Xinhua News
Baidu’s “Medical Brain” to improve care for patients
In collaboration with healthcare professionals, Baidu has launched “Medical Brain” in order to help doctors and patients by improving the equity and efficiency of China’s healthcare system. According to the president of Baidu Zhang Yaqin, it’s an application on the healthcare field of artificial intelligence – a combination of big data, super computers and machine learning. The so-called “brain” now covers about 9,300 diseases in its data. Chief scientist Wu Enda believes that this project will help transform all industries, including healthcare, which in particular needs the tool to improve patient access and optimise limited high quality medical resources. Through the platform, patients are able to learn about their own conditions online, while scientists can access patient information, including symptoms and medical histories. The company has a team of more than 1,000 to secure data safety, however, Zhang conceded that the “Medical Brain” is still under development.
Read more at: China Daily