The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Health Bureau (DH) held the fourth meeting of the Steering Committee on Medical Innovation Development today (August 5), chaired by Secretary for Health Professor Lo Chung-mau. The meeting focused on strategies to transform Hong Kong into an international medical innovation hub and to continuously advance the development of clinical trials. Committee members also provided insights on the future direction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute.

During the session, members heard updates from the institute, the Hospital Authority (HA), the Department of Health, medical schools, and the DH on the progress of work and various measures supporting clinical trial development. Representatives from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology's School of Medicine participated for the first time. Since its establishment in November 2024, the institute has steadily advanced several initiatives, including collaborating with the HA and the University of Hong Kong Clinical Trials Centre to implement a centralised clinical trial contract mechanism. This unifies processes across public hospitals and universities to accelerate trial initiation. It has also partnered with Shenzhen through a "one institute, one centre" model to create the "Greater Bay Area Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform," offering one-stop support for pharmaceutical companies to access clinical trial opportunities in the region. Additionally, the International Council for Harmonisation's Good Clinical Practice guideline (ICH GCP E6(R3)) took effect on June 30, further aligning Hong Kong's clinical trials with international standards. Committee members endorsed the direction of these efforts and provided constructive feedback.

Professor Lo stated, "I sincerely thank the steering committee members for their valuable insights. The Policy Address has established the government's policy objective of developing Hong Kong into an international medical innovation hub. The DH will leverage institutional innovation to complement technological innovation, deepen the reform of the medical and health system, and fully advance Hong Kong's development as an international medical innovation hub."

He emphasised, "Clinical trials are the crucial foundation of medical innovation. Hong Kong possesses the institutional advantages of 'one country, two systems,' high-level medical professionals and technologies, and unique conditions highly aligned with international standards. Through the institute, we will coordinate clinical trial resources from the public and private sectors, comprehensively enhance Hong Kong's clinical trial capacity and efficiency, and foster synergistic development with other cities in the Greater Bay Area. This will attract more local and international pharmaceutical and medical device companies to conduct research and clinical trials in Hong Kong, allowing patients to benefit from the most advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies sooner, achieving the goal of 'good drugs for Hong Kong use, research benefiting the people,' while simultaneously driving the development of the advanced biomedical technology industry."

The Steering Committee on Medical Innovation Development is chaired by the Secretary for Health and includes representatives from relevant policy bureaus, government departments, agencies, and medical schools. It is responsible for coordinating and promoting work related to medical innovation to further implement the policy measures outlined in the Policy Address for developing Hong Kong into an international medical innovation hub.