Li Ka-shing’s HutchMed sets up first drugs research facility in Hong Kong

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Research facility at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park will conduct drug discovery in collaboration with university medical schools

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A view of Hong Kong Science and Technology Park in Pak Shek Kok. Photo: Winson Wong

Eric Ng

Published: 8:30am, 3 Aug 2024Updated: 8:52am, 3 Aug 2024

Drug maker HutchMed (China), controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, has set up its first research facility in Hong Kong, drawn by rapid growth in the city’s biotech industry following the government’s blueprint for innovation and technology which charts out the development plan over the next decade.

The company’s research facility at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP) in Pak Shek Kok, will conduct drug discovery work in collaboration with hospitals and university medical schools, Su Weiguo, HutchMed’s CEO and chief scientific officer, said in an interview.

Over the past few decades, Hong Kong’s biotech industry has experienced rapid growth due to substantial investments in project funding and infrastructure development, Sun Dong, Hong Kong’s secretary for innovation, technology and industry, said in a statement on Thursday, adding that more than 260 biotech-related companies have set up operations in the park.

HutchMed aims to establish a bigger presence in the city when the first wet laboratories at the much larger Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in Lok Ma Chau, next to the city’s border, are ready for occupation in 2026.

“It will all be success-driven,” he said. “In Shanghai, we have over 200 scientists working on drug discovery. If successful here, we could grow our Hong Kong operations much larger.”

Scientists at HutchMed’s Hong Kong facility will work together with university researchers to “translate” preclinical results into clinical trials.