Exclusive | John Lee to promise better meds, bigger biomed pie for Hong Kong in policy address
Post learns city leader likely to devote part of annual policy address to latest biomedical developments at Lok Ma Chau Loop
Hong Kong’s leader is expected to bolster efforts to entice more drug companies to conduct clinical trials and other research locally, with potential access to the mainland Chinese market as a lure, in a bid to turn the city into a biomedical innovation hub, the Post has learned.
An insider added that authorities might expand a newly set-up local drug registration system to cover a wider range of medication types, allowing patients with different diseases to have quicker access to treatments.
Lee vowed last year to turn the city into a health and medical innovation hub with measures such as creating the city’s own drug regulatory authority, the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation, as well as establishing a new registration mechanism to expedite the approval process and setting up the clinical trial institute.
The streamlined registration mechanism aims to pave the way for a primary drug review system, becoming part of an ecosystem that can attract scientists and overseas companies to conduct research and clinical trials in the city.
