BANGKOK, March 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- This year marks the twentieth anniversary of BGI Group's close relationship with the Kingdom of Thailand. Initially both parties were brought together through an international humanitarian rescue effort during the Indian Ocean tsunami where BGI worked with authorities to complete the DNA testing for identification purposes of thousands of people at no cost as a mark of respect and support to the families who had suffered loss.
Today, BGI Group and relevant institutions in Thailand have cooperation agreements or active programs in areas of public health, genomic research, precision medicine, advanced agriculture techniques, talent training and other fields to facilitate the joint development of life sciences in Thailand, bringing cutting-edge science and technology that benefits Thai people.
Since establishing cooperation with Thailand, BGI has launched a series of genetic testing services focusing on reproductive health, infectious diseases, cancer prevention and control, and chronic disease management. These efforts continuously aid the development of precision medicine in Thailand.
In 2017, BGI Genomics, a subsidiary of BGI Group, together with local partners, formed Bangkok Genomics Innovation (BKGI), a joint venture that is dedicated to providing a number of clinical testing services, including non-invasive prenatal testing (NIFTY), non-invasive colorectal cancer early screening (COLOTECT™), hereditary deafness screening, thalassemia genetic testing and other medical testing services, providing early detection of certain diseases.
A number of agreements and memorandums of cooperation support were signed by BGI Group in recent years with companies, hospitals and universities in Thailand, including, to promote the early screening for colorectal cancer, to undertake research on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of thalassemia and carry out clinical trial cooperation on gene therapy for thalassemia in Thailand, to promote the construction of an international life science innovation center and promote genomics technology and spatiotemporal omics, and to cultivate more specialized talents in the field of genomics for Thailand through joint genomics education projects.
In addition, in September 2023, BKGI cooperated with the Department of Health of the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand to build a hereditary tumor testing service laboratory to accelerate business cooperation in various fields. The laboratory officially started operations in November 2023.
Wang Jian, Co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of BGI Group, has been a regular visitor to Thailand to meet with Thai government departments and partners. Together, both parties aim to further strengthen cooperation in the fields of genomic research, disease prevention and control, precision medicine, agriculture, joint talent training, and other areas, to help "Thailand 4.0" and the Eastern Economic Corridor Plan.
While 20 years may seem like a long time, much has been accomplished through cooperation between BGI Group and Thailand. Yet, this is just the beginning, with the promise of a future where genomics will bring significant benefits to the Thai people.