HKUMed Leads Global Push for Healthier Future

The LKS Faculty of Medicine at the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed) convened the first in-person meeting of the recently launched Lancet Commission on Transforming Primary Health Care (PHC) in the Post-COVID-19 Era in mid-November 2025. The event brought together leading researchers and international experts in PHC sciences, health policy, family medicine, nursing and public health from all seven continents with a balanced representation of gender and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to chart a bold agenda for rebuilding equitable, people-centred and digitally enabled PHC systems worldwide. HKUMed will host a series of ongoing expert discussions and aims to publish the Commission's landmark paper within the next year.

HKUMed launched new Lancet Commission with global experts to accelerate the transformation of primary health care in the post-COVID era.

'This Commission represents a pivotal step in advancing primary healthcare and medical education, and HKUMed is honoured to lead this global effort. By placing primary health care at the heart of resilient health systems, we are committed to driving evidence-based reforms that deliver meaningful progress for communities locally and globally,' said Professor William Wong Chi-wai, Clinical Professor and Department Chairperson, Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, School of Clinical Medicine, HKUMed.

'The recent tragic fire incident has profoundly saddened the Hong Kong community. We believe that enhancing primary health care preparedness for future pandemics will improve our ability to respond to similar emergencies which require coordinated, community-based health services and the rapid mobilisation of resources,' Professor Wong added.

Professor William Wong Chi-wai of HKUMed extended a warm welcome to the Lancet Commissioner during the meeting, emphasising the importance of collaborative efforts in advancing primary health care development.

'Innovations aimed at reaching marginalised groups are going to succeed only if they are built on the solid foundation of empanelment, entitlements, community trust and data collection systems,' emphasised Professor Luke Allen from the University of Oxford.

'Changing mindsets to prioritise and invest in people empowerment and people-centred care is essential,' said Professor Jose M Valderas from the National University of Singapore.

The Commission reaffirmed the foundational principles of the Alma-Ata (1978) and Astana (2018) Declarations and called for urgent, practical steps to achieve universal health coverage, strengthen essential public health functions, deepen community engagement and drive multisectoral collaboration. The Commission's diverse membership underscores a global commitment to transforming PHC to meet today's challenges and build resilient health systems for the future.

PHC systems worldwide are under unprecedented strain. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and deepened longstanding vulnerabilities, including ageing populations, persistent social inequalities, geopolitical conflicts and climate change. Inequities rooted in poverty, discrimination and gender disparities have eroded access and trust, particularly in LMICs. At the same time, the crisis spurred remarkable innovations. Telehealth, remote monitoring, artificial intelligence and data-driven tools rapidly expanded, transforming care delivery, strengthening home-based services and informing policy. Critical gaps persist, however: hospital-centric models still dominate, prevention and health promotion are under-prioritised, and preparedness for future pandemics and emergencies requires further enhancement. The newly launched Lancet Commission is committed to introducing new ideas to ensure that PHC can effectively meet future needs.

Group photo of speaking guests at the mini-summit.

• Improve equity in access to health services by addressing the broader social, economic, environmental and behavioural determinants of health through evidence-informed, cross-sector action, with particular focus on vulnerable and marginalised populations.

• Maintain people-centred care by empowering individuals, families and communities as advocates and co-developers of services and self-carers; and ensure that services are accessible, continuous, comprehensive, coordinated and tailored across the life course.

• Promote the safe and responsible adoption of digital health and AI by investing in infrastructure, training, ethical standards, interoperability, data privacy and digital literacy to ensure no one is left behind.

• Integrate community-based medical and social care through multisectoral collaboration across healthcare, public health, social services and community organisations to deliver holistic, people-centred care and strengthen resilience.

• Build a future PHC workforce by investing in multidisciplinary teams, ongoing training and professional development, well-being resources, surge capacity, flexible deployment, and the full utilisation of all health professionals, including community health workers and nurses.

• Enhance PHC preparedness for future health emergencies by embedding PHC in crisis planning, surveillance and response; strengthen data systems and supply chains; foster cross-sector collaboration; and maintain essential services for vulnerable groups.

A mini-summit titled ‘Interdisciplinarity, Innovation & Impacts of Primary Health Care: Global Perspectives’ was held to extend discussion focusing on reimagining primary health care through interdisciplinary and international lenses.

On 18 November 2025, a mini-summit titled 'Interdisciplinarity, Innovation & Impacts of Primary Health Care: Global Perspectives' extended the discussion, focusing on reimagining PHC through interdisciplinary and international lenses. The sessions were kicked off with the Director of the WHO European Centre for Primary Health Care, Kazakhstan, who shared their data-driven strategies to advance equity, team-based models of care and building trust within communities; revitalising PHC to tackle social determinants of health; and strengthening pandemic preparedness. Case studies from India and Pakistan showcased how policy-driven reforms and implementation science can unlock measurable improvements. Additional discussions explored new policy landscapes and research opportunities in regions such as Singapore, workforce development in Small Island Developing States, and disruptive political influences shaping PHC in the United States. The summit emphasised evidence-based, context-sensitive reforms to achieve resilient, equitable and innovative PHC systems worldwide.

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths. A recent report published in 'The Lancet' predicts that the number of new liver cancer cases will increase from 870,000 in 2022 to 1.52 million by 2050, nearly doubling the figure. If the current trend continues, this increase could result in 1.37 million deaths.

Traditional cancer therapies often overlook patient-specific and dynamic tumor immune environments, causing ineffective treatments, toxic side effects, and critical delays. The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed 'Liver-in-Cube', the world's first 3D-bioprinted platform that precisely reconstructs the liver cancer microenvironment in the lab using a patient's own cells and extracellular matrix. This platform offers a fast and reliable service to help patients identify the most effective personalised treatments and pave the way for a standardised, high-throughput solution for drug assessment and development.

The invention can accurately simulate tumour characteristics of individual patients, such as the cell numbers, tissue stiffness and immune microenvironments, enabling doctors to swiftly assess the efficacy and side effects of various drugs and emerging therapies, leading to more precise treatment decision. This technology has received the ‘Gold Medal’ at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, ‘Special Grand Prize’ at Prize of the China Invention Association, and ‘Best-Performing Start-Up Award’at Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGC) Conference.

The technology has received the ‘Gold Medal’ at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, ‘Special Grand Prize’ at Prize of the China Invention Association, and ‘Best-Performing Start-Up Award’at Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGC)Conference. Photo source: HKUMed

From ‘Trials to Tailored Treatment’: Seizing the Golden Treatment Window

Currently, there is a lack of personalised drug-screening platforms for liver cancer treatment in the market, which often makes patients undergo multiple treatment failures in the search for the most suitable drug. This not only imposes a heavy financial burden but may also delay the timing in killing the tumour cells effectively. The 'Liver-in-Cube' directly addresses this pain point by accelerating the evaluation of the efficacy and side effects of various drugs for patients, allowing doctors to identify the optimal treatment method for patients and reducing the risk of cancer recurrence due to treatment delays. The ‘Liver-in-Cube' has now started patient recruitment at local hospitals to expedite clinical trials and advance its transition into clinical application.

The 'Liver-in-Cube' developed by HKU, Photo source: HKUMed

Dual Value in Clinical and Research Excellence

Professor Man Kwan, Chair Professor in the Department of Surgery, School of Clinical Medicine, HKUMed, who led the research project, stated that ‘Liver-in-Cube' can speed up the identification of the most effective drugs for patients, significantly enhancing treatment efficiency and reducing side effects, with the potential to greatly improve patient survival rates. In pharmaceutical development, the technology serves as a substitute for animal models, accelerating preclinical efficacy and safety testing for new drugs with more accurate data to increase the success rate of further clinical trials. This invention can shorten the new drug development cycle with reducing costs. In the field of basic research, the model assists researchers in exploring immune regulation mechanisms and discovering new therapeutic targets and strategies. The application prospects of the ‘Liver-in-Cube' are extensive, and its technological framework can be expanded to other liver diseases and cancers, promoting the widespread adoption of precision medicine. Currently, the technology is undergoing clinical trials in local public and private hospitals. The team aims to leverage the scientific data to facilitate the commercialisation of the technology and make it available in both local and overseas markets, thus benefitting a wide range of patients.

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has developed‘Liver-in-Cube’,the world’s frst 3D-bioprinted platform that precisely reconstructs the liver cancer microenvironment in the lab using a patient’s own cells and extracellular matrix. Photo source: HKUMed

Five core technologies of ‘Liver-in-Cube':

• 1. Novel Technology for Cell and Matrix Protein Separation: Simultaneously extracts hepatocytes, tumor cells, immune cells, and matrix proteins from the tissue of the liver cancer patient, accurately simulating individual tumor characteristics.

• 2. Advanced 3D Bioprinting: Creates a biomimetic model incorporating normal tissue, tumor tissue, and vascular structures, surpassing traditional 3D cell culture and organoid products in reproducing a patient's tumor architecture.

• 3. AI-assisted patient parameterisation and printing: Utilising AI models trained on clinical biobanks, we correlate pathological features, tissue stiffness, and tumor immune microenvironment subtypes to determine the optimal geometric structure and bio-ink composition for each patient.

• 4. Customised patient-specific tumor characterisation system: By precisely measuring patient-specific parameters such as tumor stiffness and immune profiles, we reconstruct a highly biomimetic, individualized tumor microenvironment for each patient.

• 5. Innovative Tumor Model with Microvascular System: Enables continuous drug testing and evaluation of various therapies, enhancing the assessment of treatment effects in a laboratory setting.

Led by Professor Man Kwan from the Department of Surgery, HKUMed, the research
team focuses in the study of postoperative recurrence and immune microenvironment
of liver cancer. Over the decades, the team has become internationally recognised as
the leading force in the fields of liver oncology, transplant oncology, and transplant
immunology.