Sino-U.S. Academic Exchanges Accelerate Internationalization of Laboratory Medicine

GUANGZHOU, China, March 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a series of new policies rolled out by Chinese authorities in October 2013 to promote healthcare services, industries across the entire healthcare spectrum are set to spread their wings. All eyes are kept on who will first seize the opportunity.

The 21^st Century Sino-USA Summit Forum for Advances in Laboratory Medicine was recently held in Guangzhou. Through Sino-U.S. Academic Exchanges, the event was designed to facilitate international cooperation and exchanges on laboratory medicine, bring the world's advanced educational resources and leading technologies into China, promote international professional certifications, and accelerate the rapid development and internationalization of China's laboratory medicine.

The forum was co-organized by Guangzhou Medical University KingMed College of Laboratory Medicine, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and the Laboratory Medicine Branch of Guangdong Medical Association. In order to provide an international perspective, the forum invited ASCP CEO Dr. Blair Holladay and seven other leading experts in laboratory medicine from both China and the U.S. to hold an in-depth discussion on a variety of topics including career development and international certification within the field, applications of next generation sequencing, cytogenetics and medical genetic testing, mass spectrometry in laboratory medicine, circulating tumor cells and real-time personalized therapy, as well as education and development of talents with expertise in laboratory medicine.

On the eve of the event, KingMed Diagnostics, a leading independent medical laboratory firm in China, and ASCP jointly announced the establishment of a Greater China Education and Certification Training Center for Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at KingMed Diagnostics, a facility that is open to the public. The center provides China's pathologists and medical laboratory professionals with an access to more world-class continuing education resources and certification opportunities.

Founded in 1922, ASCP is a professional society with approx. 130,000 members worldwide working as pathologists, doctorate level laboratory scientists and laboratory professionals. Since then, 95 percent of clinical medical laboratory professionals in the U.S. have received qualification assessment and examination from ASCP. ASCP's partnership with KingMed Diagnostics represents one of important actions for ASCP in its global expansion.

Liang Yaoming, Dean of Guangzhou Medical University KingMed College of Laboratory Medicine and, President and CEO of KingMed Diagnostics, noted that the partnership represents changes in corporate operation strategy spurred by both the national policies and industry development. He said: "KingMed Diagnostics took the lead in achieving revenue of 1 billion yuan (approx. US$165 million) in 2012. The growth from 1 billion yuan to 10 billion yuan requires more innovative and open-minded strategic thinking. Inspired by the industry-wide transforming and upgrading, KingMed Diagnostics is committed to becoming a reliable partner of physicians and the number one clinical laboratory and pathology solutions provider in China, with a focus on the improvements of competence in comprehensive services including products, technologies, management and human resources. KingMed Diagnostics is also committed to corporate social responsibilities by promoting the standardization of medical laboratory protocols."

SOURCE KingMed Diagnostics