Humanized mice, mpox testing kits, and a way of finding out if you are going to have a heart attack 720 days in advance.
Those are just a few of the breakthroughs scientists showed off at BIOHK 2024, an international gathering of bio-tech experts in Hong Kong—and we'll discuss some of them shortly.
But first, the really big news came in the opening event, when speakers noted the sheer number of biotech companies in the Greater Bay Area.
China has 199 science parks, with 111 featuring biotechnology research and development. Of those, 93 are concentrated in Greater Bay Area. Thus it appears inevitable that this region will be a biotech center for the world.
"I believe that you are building here a unique confluence of biomed research and analytics that not just as the opportunity to serve China but it also has the opportunity to serve the rest of the world because these are unique components that so few parts of the world have," said Sir Jonathan Symonds, chairman of GSK, one of the world's biggest healthcare firms.
Businesses agree with him. More than 60 companies have already signed up to participate in the Hong Kong Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park.
And where will the money come from? Hong Kong is already one of the largest global biotech fundraising hubs in the world, so has plenty of skill in organizing investments.
There are large numbers of companies at this event, with a great many breakthroughs to show off, but let's look in more detail at a few.
HUMANIZED MICE
First, consider a problem. Before potentially dangerous medical products are used on you or your children, they are tested on mice. But there are a great many differences between rodents and humans.
So Chinese scientists are putting specific genes into mice to bridge that gap for specific experiments. These are known as humanized mice.
Mingceler, a firm based in Guangzhou, has developed what it calls Turbo Mice, accelerated rodents which provide genetic material for checking drugs are safe in half the normal development time.
PREDICTING YOUR FUTURE
Then there's this firm, BSP Medical, which has developed a test that can check if you are likely to have a heart attack, 720 days before it happens. Long enough, the theory goes, for you to develop healthy habits to change the future.
There were also food labels that change color when the food goes bad, artificial mussels that detect pollutants in the water, and a phone app that tells you how many calories in your lunch—and advises you on healthy restaurants near you.
These are all fun developments, but there's a serious message behind all this. The proportion of old people in the world is rising fast and there simply won't be enough money in the system to give people the care they need, unless things change rapidly.
Here's what Sir Jonathan Symonds said: "So I congratulate you, I commend you and I urge you to continue to move at pace because I think you have a significant contribution to make to the health of the world."
by Nury Vittachi
Lai See(利是)
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BREAKING NEWS: THE FBI and western intelligence agencies had a long history of ordering pagers and/ or walkie-talkies from Gold Apollo of Taiwan, it was revealed yesterday.
The company in New Taipei City made customized communications devices for western intelligence groups for years, according to an unearthed 13-year-old business report.
Before this revelation, the search for the makers of the pager and walkie-talkie bombs used in a devastating Israeli attack on people in Lebanon had moved to a pair of intelligence-linked companies in Europe – but both turned out to be shell companies.
Now, a re-discovered 2011 article in the Chinese language CommonWealth Magazine switches the focus back to Taiwan.
GLOBAL OUTRAGE
The 2011 business profile says that pagers and walkie-talkies may seem "to be antiques", but were actually still being made in large numbers by manufacturer Gold Apollo on the island of Taiwan.
After global outrage over the planting of bombs in pagers and walkie-talkies last week, Gold Apollo staff denied complicity and said they had licenced one of their brands to a western company, BAC Consulting of Hungary.
But that group had no factory, and turned out to be an Israeli intelligence-run front company which also dealt with a Bulgarian firm called Norta Global, the New York Times reported.
Now, the unearthing of the 2011 report moves the discussion back to New Taipei City in Taiwan.
CUSTOMIZED WALKIE-TALKIES
"Gold Apollo sells a walkie-talkie that is almost extinct in Taiwan, but its professional technology, customization and strict quality control have won orders from European and American governments, making it number one in the United States and the second largest in Europe," the 2011 CommonWealth Magazine report said.
The company in Taiwan specializes in pagers and "customized walkie-talkies", the article continued. Customers include intelligence groups in various countries, the report said. "The demand is mainly concentrated in intelligence, firefighting, national defense and other units in Europe and the United States."
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is a customer. "The FBI ordered a text-type walkie-talkie," said the report, based on interviews with the company's staff. It says of the FBI order: "The technical requirements of this product are not high, but the security confidentiality requirements are extremely strict."
The small company outsources key parts of the production chain to others. Gold Apollo "is responsible for receiving orders, and designing and purchasing raw materials", and also "production and assembly outsourcing", the article added.
GOVERNMENT FOUND 'NO RECORDS'
Taiwan's Ministry of Economy last week said they found no records indicating that the company had directly exported goods to Lebanon. But the statement said nothing about indirect supply chains, which is how most goods move from the island.
Taiwan is legally recognized as part of China, but is presently managed by an increasingly unpopular Washington-aligned political party.
Senior staff at Gold Apollo last week portrayed the company as a victim of a scam and threatened to take out a lawsuit.
But the revelation that there is a long history of people in Taiwan making customized pagers and walkie-talkies for western intelligence groups will potentially change the narrative.
by Nury Vittachi
