Hong Kong has taken a major step to fulfil its ambition to be a medical hub with its own drug approval authority by opening its first clinical trial institute located in a cross-border tech zone, with an inaugural test set to be on an HIV vaccine. Analysts hailed the launch of the government-led institute on Thursday, which they said could help expand cross-border research and development as well as attract more multinational pharmaceutical companies to carry out clinical trials. The Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute started operations on Thursday at its 7,000 sq ft site within the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone.
It offers a one-stop support platform for clinical trials, with a biobank capacity of more than 400,000 samples including tissues, blood, cells and DNA. The institute, wholly owned by the government and operated by the University of Hong Kong’s Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, will also serve to coordinate resources for the city’s public and private healthcare sectors as well as establish a collaboration network in the Greater Bay Area. The bay area is Beijing’s plan to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine Guangdong cities into an integrated economic and business hub.
“It is a magnet, coordinating Hong Kong’s precious clinical trial resources and creating a one-stop platform to support research and development companies,” Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau said..