(Hong Kong, 15 October 2026) — Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and Roche have signed a strategic collaboration agreement to advance healthcare technology and biopharmaceutical innovation. The partnership will connect research, clinical and industry expertise, helping local start-ups move promising innovations closer to clinical application and commercialization, while strengthening Hong Kong’s position as an international hub for healthcare innovation.
Building on the partnership established in 2023, the collaboration will move beyond early-stage research and incubation towards End-to-End Translational and Commercialization & Scaling Support, providing start-ups with more comprehensive support to bring their innovations to market and scale their businesses. By combining HKSTP’s innovation and technology ecosystem with Roche’s clinical, R&D expertise and global network, the partnership aims to help promising biotechnology start-ups advance their solutions towards clinical application and wider market adoption.
The initial partnership focused on three areas: policy advocacy, joint incubation and acceleration programmes, and data collaboration. Through industry forums and roundtable discussions, the collaboration has promoted dialogue on healthcare innovation policy and industry development. They have also launched joint incubation and acceleration programmes to help start-ups from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland explore opportunities in local and overseas markets, while continuing to explore data-sharing opportunities, including the use of synthetic data in healthcare innovation.
The next phase of the partnership will support the HKSAR Government’s first Five-Year Plan and its emphasis on prevention-focused healthcare. The collaboration will explore opportunities in health technology, artificial intelligence (AI), early screening, clinical trials and health management, addressing healthcare needs associated with an ageing population and the growing burden of chronic diseases. The collaboration will focus on three key areas:
1. Introducing world-leading AI healthcare technologies to advance early screening for cancer and chronic diseases in Hong Kong
2. Leveraging Roche’s clinical trial expertise to accelerate the clinical translation for local start-up and strengthen Hong Kong’s healthcare innovation ecosystem
3. Combining HKSTP’s Incu-Bio programme with Roche’s global network to help establish Hong Kong as an international hub for healthcare innovation
The signing ceremony was officiated and witnessed by Mr. Peter Yan King-shun, JP, Director-General of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) under the Financial Secretary's Office of the HKSAR Government; Mr. Terry Wong, Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP; and Ms. Agnes Ho, Head of Sub-Region Mature Markets, Roche Diagnostics Asia Pacific.
Dr Maggie Lo, Chief Manager (Life and Health Technology) of OASES, said, “In recent years, the Hong Kong Government has been actively promoting healthcare innovation. It has strengthened coordination among research, technology, clinical practice and community health services, and continued to improve the regulatory regime for drugs and medical devices. This includes setting up an independent drug and device evaluation mechanism and advancing the R&D of innovative drugs and medical devices, all to build Hong Kong into an international healthcare innovation hub. Since it was set up, OASES has actively attracted high-potential, representative strategic enterprises from around the world to Hong Kong. It has also brought together leading companies across the industry chain and their ecosystem partners to drive the growth of local I&T industries. In its first Five-Year Plan, the HKSAR Government clearly commits to greater investment in building a healthcare innovation system. Looking ahead, OASES will continue working with industry partners to strengthen clinical trial infrastructure and digital platforms, nurture local healthcare innovation talent, and expand opportunities for clinical application. By making better use of Hong Kong’s strengths in real-world data, we aim to further strengthen the city’s position as a leading centre for early-phase clinical trials and healthcare innovation.”
Ms. Vicky Tse, Head of Life and Health Technology of HKSTP, said, “HKSTP has been providing end-to-end support to healthcare and life sciences technology companies, helping them progress from research to market. Our strength lies in bringing together Hong Kong’s innovation and technology ecosystem, including research infrastructure, world-class R&D and translational facilities, incubation programmes, industry networks and investor connections, to support companies in technology validation, clinical collaboration and commercialisation. Since our partnership with Roche began in 2023, numerous start-ups have received support, with several whose development strategies align with Roche Diagnostics and Roche Pharmaceuticals joining the joint incubation programme. This latest collaboration marks a further evolution of our partnership, moving beyond early-stage incubation and translational research towards end-to-end translational and commercialisation support. HKSTP provides a platform connecting research translation, incubation and industry capital, while Roche contributes its expertise in clinical trials and R&D, as well as its global market network. Together, we aim to help start-ups accelerate clinical validation. We will further strengthen the incubation programme through a start-up competition co-organised by HKSTP, Roche Hong Kong, Roche Diagnostics Hong Kong and the Roche China Accelerator to identify innovative life sciences projects with strong translational potential. By combining our respective resources, we will help bring innovations from Hong Kong to markets across Asia and around the world.”
The deeper collaboration will build on the strengths of both parties, creating more clinical validation and international collaboration opportunities for local start-ups and helping Hong Kong play a more active role as a connector and hub in the global healthcare innovation landscape.
Mr. Ronald Lo, General Manager of Roche Diagnostics Hong Kong Limited, said, “As our population ages and the burden of chronic disease grows, healthcare needs to shift gradually from a treatment-focused model towards more proactive prevention, early detection and health management. That means bringing advanced diagnostic and health technologies into the community, in line with the ‘prevention-oriented’ direction set out in the Government’s Primary Healthcare Blueprint and the 14th Five-Year Plan. The deeper collaboration between HKSTP and Roche will not only help bring in advanced international technologies and expertise, but also give local start-ups the chance to connect with clinical settings and international markets. This will further strengthen Hong Kong's bioscience ecosystem and reinforce its position as a biotech innovation hub in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Ms. Amy Ho, General Manager of Roche Hong Kong Limited, said, “We are delighted to continue our collaboration with HKSTP and take it to a new stage. Healthcare innovation benefits from collaboration between established companies and start-ups. Larger companies can contribute clinical evidence, R&D expertise and experience in international markets, while start-ups bring fresh ideas and the flexibility to respond to emerging needs. By combining these strengths, we can help promising solutions progress from concept to clinical validation and practical application. Looking ahead, we hope to draw on our clinical development experience and global network to help start-ups generate clinical evidence and explore opportunities beyond Hong Kong. We also see potential for AI, digital health and new diagnostic technologies to support earlier detection and the management of cancer and chronic diseases.”
Among the other guests at the signing ceremony were Mr Eric Or, Chief Ecosystem Development Officer of HKSTP and Dr. Joe Zheng, Head of Roche Accelerator and CICoR External Alliance.
