Despite its small population size, Hong Kong has long held a strategic interest for the healthcare and life sciences industries, whether as a testbed for innovative products and service delivery models as a result of its efficient regulatory approval system or as an incubator for start-up companies looking to penetrate both mainland Chinese and international markets.

This report features the insights of biotech executives, research scientists, government representatives and the affiliate managers of some of the world’s largest and most innovative pharmaceutical companies who highlight the importance of a national framework for the development of the healthcare and life sciences sectors.

Exciting and significant developments, such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s unprecedented decision to allow pre-revenues and pre-product biotech companies to list on a new board and the significant amounts sunk into biomedical innovation and the biotech start-up ecosystem by the government, coupled with a fundamentally robust and well-regarded healthcare system, are promising signs that augur well for Hong Kong’s long-term aspiration to become a global biotech hub.