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Digestive malignancies, including gastric, colorectal, liver and esophageal cancers as well as leukemias and lymphomas, are major health burdens in Asian countries. Today, gastrointestinal and liver cancers are becoming more common across Asia due to population aging, growth, and a rise in risk factors ranging from oncogenic pathogen infections to increased smoking and obesity.
Under the auspices of the InnoHK initiative, the Centre for Oncology and Immunology aims to harness the power of biotechnology to develop innovative therapies to combat these hard-to-treat malignancies and bring hope to millions of cancer patients around the world.
The Centre for Oncology and Immunology is co-led by Professor Tak MAK and Professor Suet-yi LEUNG of the Department of Pathology at HKUMed in discovering novel therapies in cancer treatment. The Centre’s research team comprises globally renowned researchers who bring with them a wealth of complementary expertise and experience in oncology research, technology adoption, and commercialization. Individually, their research programs have led to major breakthroughs, including the devising of immunotherapy and checkpoint inhibition strategies that have been adopted as anti-cancer treatments, the establishment of next-generation organoid-based cell models for precision oncology, and the development of a diagnostic test for Lynch Syndrome (hereditary colon cancer).
The Centre will employ novel functional screens as well as genomic and proteomic techniques to identify novel “druggable” cancer targets. Leveraging the translational and clinical trial expertise of its lead scientists, the Centre will establish a number of advanced technical platforms to facilitate its overall goal of bringing candidate drugs and novel immunotherapy approaches into clinics.
Success in this venture will address pressing unmet medical needs and establish Hong Kong as a leading hub of innovative anti-cancer and immuno-oncology drug development.
