As the city moves to become an international health and medical innovation hub, the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation (CMPR) will be established by this year, according to Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu.
Lee made the remarks during the opening of the two-day Asia Summit on Global Health this morning, where more than 90 officials and experts from 15 countries and regions participated.
Under the theme "Fuelling Healthcare Breakthroughs", Lee highlighted three key areas for the summit: health opportunities under the nation's 15th Five-Year Plan, exploration of frontier technologies, and health innovation and investment trends.
To accelerate the city's medical development, Lee announced the CMPR will be established by year-end, creating an independent drug and device approval mechanism to enhance its credibility.
Notably, he highlighted that the new "1+" mechanism now allows drug registration in Hong Kong after approval from just one recognized reference authority, expediting patient access to life-saving therapies.
Additionally, he pointed to the Greater Bay Area Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform and the Real-World Study and Application Centre launched last year, adding that several funds are in place to support university-industry research.
"Through deepening co-operation with mainland partners, it accelerates the delivery of medical technologies with enhanced overseas and mainland drug and device registration," he said.
In pursuit of medical innovation, Lee cited the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute currently operating in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone. Drawing on the Greater Bay Area's combined population of more than 87 million, coordinating multi-center as well as cross-boundary clinical trials, Lee expressed confidence that it could drive biomedical research and development.
"True innovation requires deep cooperation and strategic partnerships that span the world and every sector of our industry," Lee said, expressing hope that the summit would lay a strong foundation for the next major breakthrough in medicine and biotechnology.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Frederick Ma Si-hang said the growing participation of mainland pharmaceutical enterprises has proved Hong Kong's role as a strategic springboard to global markets.
Ma noted the city will continue to serve as a "super-connector" and "super value-adder,” aiming to promote international healthcare collaboration.
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
