Uniting global leaders to shape a sustainable and resilient future for healthcare

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Uniting global leaders to shape a sustainable and resilient future for healthcare

The 2024 APAC Health and Life Sciences Summit, hosted by ASK Health Asia (AHA) with support from our institute and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), took place on 11–12 November 2024. Now in its second year, the summit gathered over 250 health system leaders, policy experts, industry pioneers, development partners, investors, and innovators from across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region to drive innovation and foster collaboration in Asia for global impact.

The agenda featured nine dynamic panels with discussions spanning APAC’s landscape and growth opportunities in life science, regional regulatory collaborations, health financing innovations for improved access, investment trends as well as ways to measure and tackle the growing impacts of climate change on health. Carrie Liu of the World Economic Forum, Dr Chang Liu, founder and CEO of ASK Health Asia, and Associate Professor Jonas Karlstrom, Innovation Core Lead at our institute moderated the event.

Day one focused on partnering and innovating for equity and access across APAC

Summit moderators (from left to right): Associate Professor Jonas Karlström, Core Lead of Innovation in Global Health at SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, and Dr Chang LIU, Founder & CEO of ASK Health Asia and Adjunct Associate Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong

On the summit's opening day, several panels aligned with our institute's key themes. Notably, Dr. Snehal Patel, Co-founder of aEQ and Managing Director of Saena Partners, and Carrie Liu, Lead for Health and Healthcare at the World Economic Forum, co-moderated a discussion on cross-regional health innovation and building a supportive ecosystem for life sciences in APAC.

Panel Discussions: Cross-regional Commitment to Health Innovation for Equity and Access

Speakers from the Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) Japan, Australian High Commission Singapore, ProtectHealth Corporation and Ministry of Health Malaysia, the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Apollo Hospitals shared their perspectives on cross-regional cooperation to advance health equity and access.

The panel underscored the importance of innovation and regulatory harmonisation in addressing challenges and improving health outcomes for all. They discussed specific models of stakeholder collaboration that have had measurable impact on access and how to take those lessons and apply them to other areas of need.

In another panel, speakers from A*Star, the Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC), JLABS Singapore, CBC Group, and PATH South Asia shared insights on fostering innovation in the APAC life sciences sector. The panel explored strategies to advance R&D, overcome regulatory fragmentation, and promote sustainable investments, emphasising the importance of building a collaborative ecosystem. The panels, “Partnering for Success: A Dialogue” and “Innovative Financing for Improved Access,” explored strategies to advance APAC’s life sciences market through cross sectoral and cross regional collaboration and sustainable innovative financing.

Moderated by Giles Newmarch, Senior Investment Officer, lFC-International Finance Corporation (World Bank) and Dale Huntington, Senior Director, Health Care Systems Policy, Johnson and Johnson, the panels featured leaders from DBS Bank, Sino-Innovax Biotec, Diagnostics Development Hub, SCG Cell Therapy, Microsoft, Access Partnership, Pfizer, MSD Pharma, MSD for Mothers, aEQ, Heals Healthcare and MiyaHealth.

Discussions focused on leveraging partnerships, technology to develop and bring more innovations to the market, as well as through tailored financing models to address improve access, bridge funding gaps, and drive innovation. Dr Eugene Hong, Head, Healthcare & Pharmaceutical at the Institutional Banking Group, DBS Bank, underscored the importance of a compelling narrative to attract investment. “Investors are drawn to projects that address pressing societal challenges. By framing key issues as urgent and solvable, we can mobilise capital more effectively”.

Day two: Creating a climate-resilient health future for Asia

The second day of the summit, in partnership with CIIP, opened with remarks by Deepali Khanna, Vice President for Asia at the Rockefeller Foundation, highlighting the critical need for innovative solutions and partnerships to address the region’s pressing healthcare and climate challenges. This was followed by a panel on “The Impact of Climate Change on Health”, calling for industry action, moderated by Hong Ma, Executive Vice President, Advocacy and Engagement at Edelman APAC Health, featuring leaders from Global Asia Insurance Partnership (GAIP), the Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI), the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the World Economic Forum.

Panellists explored the wide-ranging health impacts of climate change and emphasised the need for industry-wide action to build robust, adaptable healthcare systems in the region. Building on this theme, followed a panel on “Decarbonising the Healthcare Sector in Asia”, moderated by Jean-Gaetan GUILLEMAUD, Vice President Corporate Affairs, Zuellig Pharma, and convening leaders from SingHealth, DBS Bank, Philips, Roche and Apollo Hospitals. Discussions focused on reducing the healthcare sector’s carbon footprint and implementing sustainable practices through innovative supply chain strategies and cross-sector collaboration.

Professor Wan Cheng Chow sharing her views on decarbonising the healthcare sector

“As we pursue our decarbonisation journey, our efforts fall into two main categories: infrastructure and culture. While the infrastructure aspect is straightforward, the cultural shift requires more attention. It's not that our colleagues don’t care—they do. But we need to make it easy for them to do the right thing: to recycle, to reuse, and to actively participate in the sustainability journey amidst their demanding clinical responsibilities," shared Professor Wan Cheng Chow, Clinical Associate Professor, Office of Academic Medicine, Lead (Education & Training), SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute and Vice Dean, Office of Academic Medicine.

The summit concluded with a forward-looking panel on climate-resilient health systems, moderated by Renzo R. Guinto, Associate Professor of Global and Planetary Health at our institute. Panellists from Bayer Foundation, Yale School of Public Health, Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), Microsoft, and Digital Health China Technologies discussed strategies for enhancing health infrastructure, securing investment, and driving regional cooperation to address growing climate challenges.

This comprehensive exploration of climate and health underscored the importance of collaboration, innovation, and policy action in building a sustainable and resilient future for healthcare across APAC. The panel discussed practical tools and strategies to drive resilience, such as automating processes, addressing social norms, and implementing standardized checklists. Specific examples included national disease surveillance systems, data-sharing platforms, and the integration of carbon tracking into digital health solutions.

In closing remarks, Dr Chang Liu, the founder and CEO of Ask Health Asia reflected, “This summit underscores the vital role APAC countries play in global healthcare innovation. By harnessing our shared strengths and fostering cooperation, we are building a future where healthcare is accessible, equitable, and resilient to climate impacts.”

For more information about the event, go to www.askhealthasia.com

Uniting global leaders to shape a sustainable and resilient future for healthcare

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