Press Release

 

 

Background information on HKJC Institute of Chinese Medicine

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The Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, officiated at a ceremony today (June 26) to mark a $500 million donation by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) to fund research programmes and activities of the HKJC Institute of Chinese Medicine.

Following is the background information on the HKJC Institute of Chinese Medicine :

In his 1998 Policy Address, the Chief Executive set out his vision for Hong Kong to become 'a world centre for the development of health food and pharmaceuticals based on Chinese medicine'. The Policy Address stated that we 'will now examine the case for establishing an Institute of Chinese Medicine which will focus on applied research. This will strengthen our scientific and technological base, and will facilitate the commercialisation of medicinal products'. The former Chief Executive's Commission on Innovation and Technology has in principle supported the establishment of such an institute.

Need for the Institute

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The development and manufacture of Chinese medicine based products offer significant potential for Hong Kong. In many regions of the world herbal products play an important role in health care. Large private and public funds are being invested in the exploration of complementary and alternative medicine, particularly in the US and Europe, which are growing markets for herbal products. Recognition of this growth is being reflected by changes in pharmaceutical regulations within the US that could encourage the development of herbal products as drugs. Hong Kong is well positioned to take advantage of this window of opportunity, given its ability to leverage on the resources of the Mainland and its known competitive advantages.

Over the past few years, the Government has supported a number of Chinese medicine-related research and infrastructure projects under the Innovation and Technology Fund. Funding in excess of $100 million has been committed. Such support has enabled five local institutions (The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Baptist University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology) to acquire state-of-the-art facilities and build capabilities to pursue drug discovery, pre-clinical development, manufacturing process development, analytical characterisation and quality control of Chinese medicinal materials.

To strengthen our support in this area, Government considers it necessary to establish the Institute as a visible focal point for action and co-ordination in our pursuit to be the world centre for the development of health food and pharmaceuticals based on Chinese medicine.

Role and activities of the Institute

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We envisage that the Institute will cover the following main areas of activities -

(a) formulation of strategies for the development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong;

(b) development of standards for Chinese medicine materials and products and regulation of the standard certification process in collaboration with the relevant authorities;

(c) initiation, funding, co-ordination and management of the public sector research and development (R&D) programmes and projects in the Chinese medicine field and promotion of commercialisation of R&D results;

(d) ¡@partnership with the private sector to add value to Chinese medicine based products through the enhancement of their safety, quality and efficacy and the promotion of good agricultural practice (GAP), good manufacturing practice (GMP), good laboratory practice (GLP) and good clinical practice (GCP); and

(e) ¡@intelligence gathering and information dissemination relating to Mainland and overseas R&D activities, regulatory requirements on Chinese medicine based products in the major markets, and related matters such as patent protection.

Donation of the Hong Kong Jockey Club

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To show its support and endorsement of the Government's vision, the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) has agreed to donate HK$500 million to fund the Institute's research programmes and activities in pursuit of its public mission. To acknowledge the generosity of the HKJC, the Institute is named as the "Hong Kong Jockey Club Institute of Chinese Medicine".

Institutional relationship between the Institute and the Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI)

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ASTRI's main role will be to promote midstream research capability in Hong Kong, develop technology platforms for industry and foster co-operation between industry and our universities and the research community. The proposed mission and main activities of the Institute share to a large extent the public mission of ASTRI. To maximise synergy and to avoid fragmentation of our technology infrastructure in both structural and functional terms, the Institute will be set up as a subsidiary of ASTRI. The capital and recurrent operational expenditure of Institute will be met by the Government through ASTRI's budget. The donation of the HKJC will be dedicated entirely to the research programmes and specific tasks of the Institute. The Institute will have its own Board of Directors to decide on activities in pursuit of its public mission. We are now in the process of setting up the Institute and its Board of Directors.

End/Monday, June 26, 2000

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