(Hong Kong, 14 September 2023) Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), will join the “Think Business, Think Hong Kong” symposium organised by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) on 19 September, at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris.
Hong Kong’s largest innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem and incubator, HKSTP, will lead a contingent of health and biotech leaders to outline how Hong Kong can help biotech start-ups and big pharma in France scale for success and tap into the huge potential of Asia’s healthcare markets. At the same time, French expertise and talent will also advance Hong Kong’s goal to become an international biotech and innovation technology hub.
Mr Olivier Becht, France's Minister for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad and Mr Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, will join a cast of business leaders at the event including Dr Peter Lam, Chairman of HKTDC, and Mr Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP to discuss the collaboration potential between the French and the Hong Kong I&T ecosystems.
Asia Pacific is set to be the world’s fastest growing biotech region with a 16.9% compound annual growth rate from 2022 to 2030, according to Vision Research. The region is also seeing improving healthcare infrastructure, supportive government policies and an increasingly critical aging population challenge. Hong Kong is well located as the ideal hub to both the huge markets in North Asia and diverse fast-growing SE Asian economies.
Fast-rising biotech stars
To discuss these issues and opportunities, HKSTP is hosting a biotech thematic session and pavilion at the “Think Business, Think Hong Kong” symposium, with four leading executives from fast-rising Hong Kong-based biotech ventures showcasing the city’s ability to propel innovation to global success.
The four speakers and biotech companies include:
- Dr Ricky Chiu Yin-To, Founder, Chairman and CEO of PHASE Scientific. He is also the inventor of the company's proprietary diagnostic technology and has made significant breakthroughs and developments in the fields of liquid biopsy and rapid point-of-care testing. With 46 patents granted, the technology provides an innovative solution to the problem of low-concentration target molecule detection.
- Dr Yiyou Chen, Co-founder, Executive Director and Chief Scientist Officer of New Horizon Health. Chinese cancer screening pioneer New Horizon Health Limited, has gone IPO in Hong Kong in a mission to go global.
- Prof Roberto Bruzzone, a renowned cell biologist, recognised for his work on direct cell-cell communication through connexins and their associated human diseases. C2i is a vaccine and therapeutics partnership between global infectious diseases leader the Institut Pasteur and the University of Hong Kong.
- Prof Siew Chien Ng, a microbiology expert, Co-founder of GenieBiome, Professor of CUHK Faculty of Medicine, Director of Microbiota I-Center (MagIC). GenieBiome Limited (G-NiiB) is a pioneer in gut health and has launched the world’s first anti-viral gut microbiome formula.
Riding on the upward trajectory of record €13.49 billion funding in 2022, French startups are seeking further growth opportunities, while the French government also launched the Healthcare Innovation 2030 plan in 2021 with a budget of €7.5 billion with a goal to lead biotech innovation in Europe.
“The next potential step for French biotech is to scale up and go global. Asia offers diverse opportunities with Hong Kong the ideal launchpad for French biotech as an engine of funding, partnerships and talent to translate and scale medical innovations to global success. French biotech domain knowledge and innovation will also be a vital boost to Hong Kong’s ambition to become an international innovation hub,” said Mr Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP.
Ecosystem completeness
Hong Kong is Asia’s leading and the world’s second largest biotech funding hub with Hong Stock Exchange’s biotech-friendly Chapter 18A listing policy, while also ranked 12th in the World Index of Healthcare Innovation, above the likes of the United Kingdom and Canada. The government has also funded the InnoHK initiative with 14 research clusters dedicated to biomedical and health tech, located at Hong Kong Science Park.
HKSTP has built a thriving fully integrated biotech ecosystem that can support ventures through every step of the startup to scale-up journey. Today HKSTP features around 250 biotech ventures supercharged by incubation programmes such as the dedicated Incu-Bio programme, plus attractive subsidies and supportive government policies. World class talent is abundant with Hong Kong’s five top-100 universities as ranked by the Times, plus China’s projected annual output of 77,000 STEM PhDs per year by 2025, compared to 40,000 in the US, as estimated by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
HKSTP has forged powerful connections with global pharmaceutical leaders such as Roche, Merck, Boehringer Ingelheim and Shanghai Pharmaceutical, as well as government, public and private hospitals and healthcare institutions. These partnerships support all parties in the ecosystem to expand into the Greater Bay Area (GBA), China, Asia Pacific and global markets.
Hong Kong already features a strong French contingent and community with a total of 800 French businesses, including 373 subsidiaries and 92 regional headquarters based in Hong Kong, according to the French Embassy. Interested parties can join the HKTSP biotech pavilion and the hear from biotech innovation leaders as well as other innovation ecosystem experts at the “Think Business Think Hong Kong” symposium.
Register now: https://thinkbusinessthinkhk-2023.site.digitevent.com/en/
Learn more: https://thinkbusinessthinkhk.com/2023-paris/symposium/en/event-details/programme.html
