The Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, chaired the fourth meeting of the Steering Committee on Health and Medical Innovation Development today (August 5) to discuss the strategies for developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, as well as the continued efforts in driving clinical trial development. Members also offered advice on the future development of the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute (GBAICTI).

     At the meeting, members were briefed by the GBAICTI, the Hospital Authority (HA), the Department of Health, medical schools and the Health Bureau (HHB) on the work taken forward and the latest progress on various measures to support clinical trial development. A representative of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology School of Medicine also attended the meeting for the first time. Since its establishment in November 2024, the GBAICTI has been making steady progress on a number of fronts, including the launch of a centralised processing mechanism for clinical study agreement templates with the HA and the University of Hong Kong Clinical Trials Centre to standardise relevant procedures across public hospitals and universities. This is to expedite trial initiations and provide one-stop support for clinical trial opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) enterprises through setting up the Greater Bay Area Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform under the "one institute, one center" model with Shenzhen. The Good Clinical Practice (ICH GCP E6(R3)) also came into effect on June 30 this year, further aligning Hong Kong's clinical trials with international standards. Members endorsed the relevant directions of work and offered constructive comments.

     Professor Lo said, "I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Steering Committee members for their invaluable insights. The Policy Address has set out clearly the Government's policy objective of developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub. The HHB will complement technological innovation with institutional innovation and further reform the medical and healthcare systems, making every effort to advance Hong Kong's development into an international health and medical innovation hub.

     "Clinical trials form an important foundation of health and medical innovation. Hong Kong possesses the institutional advantages of the 'one country, two systems' framework, high-quality healthcare professionals and technologies, and unique advantages of high compatibility with international standards. Through the GBAICTI, we will co-ordinate clinical trial resources in the public and private sectors to enhance Hong Kong's clinical trial capability and efficiency on all fronts, as well as to foster co-ordinated development with other GBA cities, with a view to attracting more local, Mainland and overseas pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises to conduct R&D and clinical trials in Hong Kong. This will enable patients to benefit from the most advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies at an early stage, thereby achieving the goal of bringing the benefits of good drugs and R&D to Hong Kong, while spurring the development of advanced biomedical technology industries," he emphasised.

     Chaired by the Secretary for Health, the Steering Committee on Health and Medical Innovation Development comprises members from relevant government bureaux and departments, institutions and local medical schools. The Steering Committee is responsible for co-ordinating and advancing work related to health and medical innovation, with a view to further taking forward the policy measures of developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub as set out in the Policy Address.

Ends/Wednesday, August 5, 2026
Issued at HKT 16:56

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