Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China and Shionogi (Hong Kong) Company have signed an agreement to launch joint ventures in Shanghai and Hong Kong, namely Ping An-Shionogi and Ping An-Shionogi (Hong Kong), to enhance health and medical care services in China, Ping An said in a statement.

Ping An-Shionogi is registered in Shanghai, with a total investment of 2.94 billion (US$420.08 million). Ping An will contribute 1.44 billion yuan for a 49% equity while Shionogi (Hong Kong) will invest 1.5 billion yuan for 51%. 

Ping An-Shionogi (Hong Kong) is registered in Hong Kong, with a total investment of HK$360 million (US$46.45 million) . Tutum Japan Healthcare Limited, an indirect subsidiary of Ping An, will invest HK$176 million for a 49% equity, while Shionogi (Hong Kong) will contribute HK$184 million for 51%. Both transactions will be coordinated by China Ping An Insurance Overseas (Holdings) Limited.

The joint ventures will become development centers for drugs that Shionogi is developing globally, with focus on infectious disease and central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Combined with Ping An’s big data and artificial intelligence (AI) analytical technology, the joint ventures will establish a research and development platform to efficiently create high-value-added, innovative medicines and healthcare services and deliver customized solutions for customers.

To enhance pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality control, Shionogi will fuse its manufacturing and quality control technology and knowhow with Ping An's AI technology to create a new manufacturing and quality control system. The joint ventures will use AI to monitor the manufacturing and analysis in real time, and to deploy an innovative pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality control system that offers high quality and low costs.

The joint ventures aim to supply new, generic and over-the-counter drugs to customers in China via Ping An Health Cloud, an affiliate of the group. Ping An Good Doctor is today the largest mobile medical application in the country, with 315.2 million registered users, 729,000 average daily consultations, and a professional network of more than 3,000 hospitals and 94,000 pharmacies by the end of 2019. It leverages Ping An Health Cloud Company’s in-house full-time medical team and its proprietary AI-based medical system to cover end-to-end services including 24/7 online consultation, prescription, referral, appointment, second medical opinion and drug delivery.