Elekta has agreed to help China reach the goals of its 2030 Healthy China plan by working alongside China National Pharmaceutical Group Co. (Sinopharm) to increase adoption of radiotherapy in lower-tier cities, where about 70% of the country's population resides.

Elekta plans to improve access to this technology in over 1,000 of these small urban medical institutions that are part of Sinopharm Group’s service network. The solutions it will install include its precision radiotherapy systems, as well as neuroscience, brachytherapy and informatics solutions.

“In China, the number of linear accelerators per million people is 1.47, however the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recommends four radiotherapy systems per one million people. The general ambition is to reach the IAEA recommendation, which will enable us to be a part of China's health plan for the country,” Elekta told HCB News.

The IAEA has recommended that China eventually have a minimum of at least 1.5 units per million.

Sinopharm provides R&D, manufacturing, logistics and distribution, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare delivery services in China. It runs the second largest pharmaceutical business in the world, according to news outlet Drug Discovery & Development’s 2022 Pharma 50 Report, and also operates a logistics network for drugs and medical devices in China.

Sinopharm also recently teamed up with GE HealthCare to create a new company that will develop non-premium CT and general imaging ultrasound solutions for Chinese providers.

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