LegCo Secretariat releases Policy Pulse on "Developing an international health and medical innovation hub: Reform of medical products and inheritance of Chinese medicine"
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) Secretariat today (October 26) released the latest issue of the Policy Pulse on "Developing an international health and medical innovation hub: Reform of medical products and inheritance of Chinese medicine", introducing Hong Kong's various measures to reform the regulatory regime for drugs and medical devices (medical products) and the latest progress in promoting the inheritance and innovation of Chinese medicine (CM), as well as summarising relevant discussions in LegCo and Members' recommendations.
The Outline of the National 15th Five-Year Plan proposes to "advance biomedicine", "optimize the evaluation and approval mechanism for innovative drugs and drugs with urgent clinical use", whilst also supporting the promotion of CM culture and contributing to the building of a Healthy China. The Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan proposes to establish a medical innovation hub with global influence, continue to comprehensively intensify the regulatory reform of medical products, make good drugs and medical devices available for use in Hong Kong, and step up efforts to promote CM development.
This issue of the Policy Pulse outlines how Hong Kong, under the unique advantages of "one country, two systems", connects international capital with innovation on the Mainland, attracts top enterprises to set up operations, builds a pool of clinical research talents, and combines the wisdom of Chinese and Western medicine, laying a solid foundation for Hong Kong to build an international health and medical innovation hub. Hong Kong is currently the largest biotechnology fundraising platform in the Asia-Pacific region and the second largest globally. As of April this year, the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises has successfully attracted over 120 strategic enterprises, with around one-third coming from the field of life and health technology. Half of the world's top 10 pharmaceutical companies have established a presence in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Hong Kong brings together two medical schools ranked among the world's top 30, and is establishing a third medical school. These figures are a true reflection of Hong Kong's strengths.
The Policy Pulse also briefs on government measures to advance medical product regulatory reform as well as research and development (R&D), including the plan to submit a bill to LegCo by the end of this year for the establishment of the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation to strengthen the regulatory system for medical products; drive the registration system for new drugs towards "primary evaluation" without relying on overseas registration approvals and accelerate the introduction and clinical application of new drugs; and leverage the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute in the Hetao Hong Kong Park as the core to develop Hong Kong into a top-notch global medical innovation transformation base. Members have actively contributed suggestions in these areas, urging the Government to accelerate the full implementation of the "primary evaluation" mechanism for new drugs and automatically include newly registered drugs into the Hospital Authority Drug Formulary to benefit more patients in need of innovative drugs. Meanwhile, Members suggest the Government to make proactive arrangements for budget planning, updating clinical guidelines and providing policy guidance, with a view to positioning Hong Kong as one of the world's first-launch markets for new drugs.
At the same time, the Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan and the 2026 Policy Address have announced that the Government will continue to implement the targets and actions set out in the Chinese Medicine Development Blueprint, striving to turn Hong Kong into a bridgehead for CM to go global. The LegCo Subcommittee on Matters Relating to the Development of Chinese Medicine is comprehensively reviewing and examining CM development in Hong Kong and making recommendations. Members have been supportive of the Government in promoting CM services globally under the "Hong Kong model", suggesting an increase in the quota for government-subsidised services and funding for the Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong. Members also recommend setting clear targets for expanding the coverage of the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards (HKCMMS), and promoting the internationalisation and overseas application of the HKCMMS to enhance the national influence in setting standards for CMs.
The Policy Pulse further outlines the Government's multi-pronged approach to expand the local healthcare talent pool and actively develop infrastructure to promote the high-quality development of medical innovation in the Greater Bay Area. In this regard, Members urge the Government to set a target for the number of non-locally trained doctors to be admitted, so as to achieve the ratio target of 2.43 doctors per 1 000 population set out in the Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan. Members also suggest setting ratios of nurses to the overall population and of nurses to patients in public hospital wards to enhance the quality of healthcare services; establishing a dedicated research fund to support early-stage R&D in life and health technology at the new medical school to accelerate the translation of research findings; and enhancing support for talent to consolidate Hong Kong's position as an international health and medical innovation hub.
Details of "Developing an international health and medical innovation hub: Reform of medical products and inheritance of Chinese medicine" can be viewed or listenedon the LegCo Website. Prepared by the Council Business Divisions of the LegCo Secretariat, the Policy Pulse aims to highlight specific topics, analyse policy developments, and summarise relevant discussions in LegCo.
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