Hong Kong leverages ‘unrivalled’ medical hub status amid global hantavirus alarm

Leader John Lee and health chief Lo Chung-mau highlight city’s unique role in boosting global pandemic readiness at Asia Summit on Global Health on Monday

Hong Kong will serve as a global partner in pandemic preparedness, leveraging its “unrivalled” status as a medical innovation hub to combat emerging health threats such as a recent hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship, the city’s leader and health chief have said.

Speaking at the Asia Summit on Global Health on Monday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu underscored the city’s commitment and strategic role in medical innovation.

“Our status as a leading hub for scientific innovation is unrivalled in Asia, and our strengths are magnified by our core position in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area,” he said.

“In pursuit of medical innovation, Hong Kong complements the strategy set out in the national 15th five-year plan, which optimises evaluation and approval mechanisms for innovative drugs and supports their clinical application.”

Lee said a key part of the plan to develop Hong Kong into a health and medical innovation hub was the rapid expansion of the city’s clinical trial capabilities, which “drive biomedical R&D from the laboratory to the bedside.”

Outlining government policies and investments to drive innovation, he called for greater collaboration and strategic partnerships to achieve breakthroughs in medicine and biotechnology.