by Xinhua writer Wang Qibing
GENEVA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- "Our goal is not limited to publishing papers," but focusing on translating basic medical research into practical applications in an increasingly aging society, said Zhang Ling, representative of an award-winning team from Peking University Health Science Center.
Zhang made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua after her team secured one gold and one silver medal at the recently held 51st International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva.
It marked her institution's first participation in the global exhibition, where Zhang said the team aimed to deepen exchanges with international peers, seek partners and explore new prospects for turning basic medical research results into practical applications.
More than 1,000 inventions from over 30 countries and regions were showcased at the five-day exhibition, where Zhang's research group, led by Xian Xunde, doctoral supervisor of Peking University Health Science Center, presented two cutting-edge projects -- a KIF13B-targeted therapy for abdominal aortic aneurysm and Unlocking NX-1607, a clinical stage drug's new potential for vascular and liver diseases.
Zhang said their projects address mounting health challenges in aging societies, where cardiovascular and metabolic diseases are expected to rise.
Targeting abdominal aortic aneurysms, which are clinically "incurable," the research team identified, for the first time, the core mechanism of the "motor protein" KIF13B in maintaining vascular wall homeostasis, and the remarkable potential of therapies targeting this gene in inhibiting abdominal aortic aneurysm expansion and preventing fatal rupture.
The exhibition's review committee believes that this research provides a new non-surgical treatment pathway for high-risk abdominal aortic aneurysm patients.
In the other project, the research team discovered that NX-1607, a clinical trial drug intended for cancer treatment, has an intervention effect on human liver fibrosis and atherosclerosis, which showcases the team's breakthrough in the development of multi-target drugs.
This finding, published in the European Society of Cardiology's academic journal European Heart Journal last year, was highly recognized by the journal's editor-in-chief Filippo Crea.
"This work not only refines our view of vascular biology but may ultimately inform a broader therapeutic framework that unites cardiovascular and cancer immunotherapy," he wrote.
"Both of these findings have completed the application for and been granted domestic invention patents, while efforts to pursue an international patent layout under the PCT have been advanced in parallel. This demonstrates our concrete results in implementing the national push to orient scientific research toward practical application," said Zhang.
The researcher said that abdominal aortic aneurysm, liver fibrosis and atherosclerosis are common diseases affecting the health of middle-aged and elderly people, placing a heavy burden on the public healthcare system.
If successfully translated into treatment solutions, Zhang said, the two research findings could reduce current reliance on expensive imported devices and long-term multi-drug therapies, significantly lowering healthcare costs and contributing to the Chinese government's "Healthy China 2030" initiative. ■
