(Hong Kong, 12 December 2022) — Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. (SPH, 601607.SH, 2607.HK) and Shanghai Innovation Center for Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Biopharma Evolution, a subsidiary of SPH) officially launched a strategic co-incubation programme today to accelerate the incubation of biomedical startups and translation of innovative technology in Hong Kong.
The city is facing an ideal opportunity to ride on the HKSAR Government’s reinforced mission to promote I&T development, as well as China’s full support to position Hong Kong as China’s international Innovation & Technology (I&T) hub under the 14th Five-Year Plan. To capitalise on this opportunity for the biotech sector, HKSTP will deepen cooperation with SPH building on their existing partnerships.
SPH had previously signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HKSTP to collectively drive biotech innovation and maximise the full potential for long-term biomedical industry collaborations between the two cities of Hong Kong and Shanghai. The co-incubation programme will leverage SPH’s R&D network and capital, Biopharma Evolution’s experience in promoting translational research, as well as HKSTP’s one-stop infrastructural facilities and support services to nurture top-tier biotech startups.
Under the co-incubation programme, HKSTP will provide approximately 14,000 sq. ft. of co-working space at Hong Kong Science Park for the co-incubatees, who will also gain access to a variety of support and resources under the Incu-Bio programme. Meanwhile, SPH and Biopharma Evolution will provide mentorship and support to the co-incubatees for up to seven years, including experiment laboratories and office facilities, mature translational services platforms and clinical resources, commercialisation services, as well as marketing & business expansion, etc. SPH and Biopharma Evolution may further provide capital investment to support the development of these startups.
Prof. Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, attended the co-incubation event and witnessed the signing ceremony, where he highlighted in his speech that “The National 14th Five-Year-Plan clearly supports Beijing, Shanghai and the Greater Bay Area as an integrated international I&T hub, while fully supporting Hong Kong’s development into an international I&T hub with its own characteristics. I am pleased to see the partnerships among HKSTP, SPH and Biopharma Evolution, which bridges both incubation and R&D translation between the two cities. I hope that the collaboration will nurture more high-quality startups as well as drive life science innovation and industry development in Hong Kong.”
Mr. Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said: “Hong Kong and Shanghai have established cooperation for a long period of time. The biomedical sector has become one of Shanghai's three leading industries in recent years, and the HKSAR Government plays a key role in promoting innovation and translation of biomedical technology in Hong Kong. The two cities are in fact on the same track. As Hong Kong’s largest R&D and incubation base, HKSTP has an extensive and in-depth collaboration network in biotechnology with the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, universities, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, and other partners to fully support local and overseas startups and talents landed at Hong Kong Science Park. Our co-incubation programme with SPH will attract more quality startups, further strengthen the I&T ecosystem and expand local talent pool by complementing the advantages of the two cities, blossoming the development of biomedical technology in Hong Kong and Shanghai.”
Mr. Cho Man, Executive Director and President of SPH; Chairman and General Manager of Biopharma Evolution, said: “SPH is a core subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based China company, Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) co., and a leading pharmaceutical group ranking top 500 in the world and top 50 in the pharmaceutical industry. With a strategic ambition to become a competitive world-leading pharmaceutical company, SPH will continue to focus on our strategic development of innovation and internationalisation in the coming future. Therefore, we are increasing our investment in R&D and continuing to develop an open innovation platform. We believe that Hong Kong has a unique advantage in the fields of life and biomedical sciences, the areas that present the greatest growth potential. Today, SPH, Biopharma Evolution and HKSTP established a partnership to kick-start an incubation platform for innovative biomedical startups in Hong Kong and globally. We will leverage our strengths to bring in more innovative projects, as well as talents from Hong Kong and overseas, to drive the development of the city’s biomedical industry, serve the community and the country. Finally, we hope our efforts can contribute to the development of Hong Kong as an international innovation center and support the national strategy on science and technology innovation.”
The parties will create a global incubation platform focusing on various R&D areas, including autoimmune diseases, anti-aging, gene and cell therapy, messenger RNA (mRNA)/ small interfering RNA (siRNA) and other novel therapies. The co-incubation programme will attract outstanding global biomedical startups to Hong Kong and lead their path to the Greater Bay Area (GBA), as well as the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) led by Shanghai, which can effectively foster the construction of R&D platforms and fast track the biomedical development in China.
Hong Kong has a strong foundation on biotechnology research and a thriving I&T ecosystem, while also being Asia’s largest biotech fundraising hub and the world’s second-largest biotech fundraising hub. This collaboration is expected to integrate local biomedical research, improve translation efficiency, facilitate the collaborations between stakeholders from government, industry, academia and research sectors, align the city’s strategy of “re-industrialisation” and to promote Hong Kong’s development into an international I&T hub.
HKSTP established the Institute for Translational Research (ITR) in 2021 to accelerate the translation of research outcomes into applications beneficial to society. ITR provides scientists and researchers with top-tier infrastructure, technology and business matching, as well as trainings in entrepreneurial skills, business operations and other areas. As the world-class ecosystem of ITR continues to expand, it has brought in more than 1,000 investors and partners, including Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Innovation Center for Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd., to provide comprehensive support to the translation of biomedical technology.
