Leeds-based healthcare big data and artificial intelligence company, Nine Health Global, has signed an agreement to set up a subsidiary in China.

The operation will be based in Jiangsu province at Wuxi International Life Science Innovation Campus (I-Campus), an innovation incubation platform which opened in September 2019. Wuxi is a major centre in China for the Internet of Things and big data.

I-Campus is a joint initiative by global pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, and Wuxi municipal government.

The aim is to create a life-science ecosystem on a global scale, covering incubation, research & development, and commercialisation. It will serve both innovative Chinese and international companies across pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, devices and digitalisation.

Yorkshire-based Nine Health designs and implements systems for healthcare providers and medical device manufacturers. It has been active in China since 2014. Its activities include working with a Chinese partner to develop Diagbot, an evidence-based AI clinical decision support system which helps doctors in community clinics in China to make accurate diagnoses.

In Chengdu, Sichuan province, Nine Health is leading the population health component of a major project to create a third-generation primary healthcare service.

Elaine Taylor-Whilde, founder and CEO of the Nine Health companies, said: “We have had valuable support from the UK’s Department of International Trade, Healthcare UK and the China-Britain Business Council in identifying opportunities and guiding our work in China, and from NatWest Bank’s Entrepreneur Accelerator in Leeds.

“It’s important for the UK to understand the scale of the incentives available to small and medium-sized companies setting up in China, and the size and nature of the opportunities here.”