Considering Latvia’s excellency in biomedicine and potential in the economy, Rīga Stradiņš University and Children’s Clinical University Hospital continue cooperating with leading health centres in Tel Aviv, Israel – Sheba City of Health and Schneider Children’s Hospital. The Ministry of Economics, in cooperation with big data companies, promotes the development of precision medicine data infrastructure in Latvia and Israel by organising technology transfer projects.
The Sheba Hospital is one of the world’s 10 leading hospitals, and during the Covid-19 pandemic it provides extensive support to hospitals all over the world. On December 22 this year, Sheba is planning to open the world’s first Pandemic Institute to help address current health challenges. Sheba is one of the hospitals richest in data, which has been fully digitised for 18 years. It puts the greatest emphasis on prevention and is at the heart of the innovation ecosystem. The global health ecosystem is designed to make a significant contribution to the development of the health system by 2030, so there is now a strong emphasis on simulation training, with around 18 thousand medical practitioners being trained annually; in addition, consultancy services are provided and virtual clinics have been created.
Having familiarised with the Sheba management strategy in introducing innovation and the ARC Innovation Centre of global importance during her visit to Israel, the Minister of Economics Ilze Indriksone underlines the importance of a structured approach and cooperation in the innovation ecosystem:
Modern healthcare is based on innovation, the value given to the patient and the knowledge gained from the latest studies. To ensure this, effective cooperation is essential between all participants in the ecosystem – medical practitioners, scientists, employees of start-ups, academics, investors and the global centres of excellence in medicine. The world is currently restarting its healthcare system, adapting to new needs and technological opportunities, and, in this process, it is important for Latvia to be at the forefront, together with the world’s best innovators in the health sector. Hospitals, universities and scientific institutes in Latvia and Israel have great potential for joint work, creating innovative health services for patients in Latvia, Israel and elsewhere in the world. Data, its protection and use in research, as well as the development of commercial offers to the market play an important role in the development of new health solutions.”
Therefore, the Ministry of Economics, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, and the Ministry of Education, is currently working on the development of laws and regulations to sort out the health data architecture. A first step in this direction is the Data Reuse Law, which has already been adopted by the Saeima in 1st reading.
During the Business Forum, a cooperation agreement was signed between Sheba Medical Center and Rīga Stradiņš University, which provides for cooperation in medical education, innovation and research, including the development of medical simulations and research of autoimmunity, as well as the promotion of innovations in medical fields.
A memorandum on the continuation of cooperation between the Shaare Zedek Medical Center and the University of Latvia was also signed. It provides for introducing a result-oriented healthcare pilot project in Latvia, which will extend the survival of lung cancer patients and shorten the path of patients from complaints to therapy.
An academic cooperation agreement was signed between the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and the University of Latvia.
Within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the Children’s Clinical University Hospital and Schneiders Children’s Medical Center, it is planned to promote the exchange of doctor, nurse researchers and other healthcare professionals, create traineeship/internship opportunities for employees, promote scientific cooperation in the areas of mutual interest, as well as share experiences in good practices in medical treatment, education, research and innovation.
As it was reported, this year on November 27-30, the Minister of Economics I.Indriksone participated in the visit of the State President Egils Levits to Israel. Within the framework of the Business Forum organised by the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, four memoranda of cooperation in the field of biomedicine have been signed, as well as negotiations have been continued regarding cooperation with big data companies Google, Microsoft and pharmaceutical company Roche regarding the launching of joint projects, including in the development of health data infrastructure.
One of the priorities of the Ministry of Economics is the development of science and innovation in Latvia, including in cooperation with international organisations and corporations, paying particular attention to the smart specialisation areas in Latvia. In order to achieve the development of innovations, close cooperation with Latvian start-ups, universities and scientific institutions is taking place. At the same time, we inform that Europe’s leading Precision Medicine Networking Forum will be held in Riga on 12-13 October 2023.