HKSTP and The Hong Kong Medical Association Reinforce Partnership and Mission to Strengthen Primary Healthcare with Technology

(Hong Kong, 19 April 2023) – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) and the Hong Kong Medical Association (HKMA) celebrated the one-year anniversary of their successful partnership, to leverage the full potential of new technologies to improving people’s health. The year-long partnership has already yielded impactful results to support the HKSAR Government’s Primary Healthcare Blueprint which aims to reform the primary healthcare sector through technology and a shift to more community-based health services.

Mr Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said: “The partnership between HKMA and HKSTP would further reinforce Hong Kong’s position as a world-leading biomedical and healthcare technology centre, and in the long run accelerating its development into an international I&T hub. With HKMA’s dedicated Council and community-wide expertise, their role has been invaluable in helping spur co-creation, life-changing solutions and a truly world-class biomedical innovation and technology ecosystem. We all share the common goal of promoting health, wellness and elevating patient care – a goal that all our park biomedical ventures are striving to achieve every day.”

On the same occasion, HKSTP also hosted a symposium and exhibition themed “Advancing HealthCare with Innovation and Technology”, where several Park companies showcased their latest technology in chronic diseases, infectious diseases and cancer screening to HKMA Council members. Professor Juliana Chan, Professor of Medicine and Therapeutics, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Founding Director of GemVCare Limited, remarked: “Every 1 of 8 healthcare dollars is spent on diabetes mainly due to complications. Advances in genomics and digital health allow early prevention, detection and intervention of diabetes, and provide motivation and self-management tools to empower patients to take control of diabetes. These are well aligned with the strategies outlined in the Primary Healthcare Blueprint.” 

Partnerships with leading industry institutions like HKMA are fundamental to HKSTP’s strategy to collaborate with sector leaders in driving industry transformation. The HKSTP and HKMA teams aim to forge an even closer partnership to elevate healthcare in Hong Kong, with a number of collaborations planned that build on a fruitful year of impactful initiatives. The combination of HKSTP’s ecosystem and expert capabilities to translate ideas to impactful solutions with HKMA’s deep domain expertise will shape a new future for primary healthcare.

Since 2022, the HKMA and HKSTP have jointly organised a CME-accredited lecture series to showcase the latest technologies developed by Park companies and their clinical applications to HKMA members. An extensive array of biomedical solutions focusing on precision medicine have been introduced, from patient empowerment digital solutions for preventing and managing type 2 diabetes, to pharmacogenetic testing and risk assessment for neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. In total, 5,644 participants have joined these lectures and solution showcases.

Prof Benny Zee, Director of Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services (ORKTS); Professor of Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, the Chinese University of Hong Kong; Founder and CEO of Health View Bioanalytic Limited (one of the Park companies that have joined the showcase) commented: “We were overwhelmed by the enthusiasm received from the HKMA community following our solution showcase, which saw high interest levels and invaluable practical feedback from frontline primary-care doctors. With the input from the HKMA community and the HKSTP ecosystem, we are excited to see the possibility for our technology being put into wider clinical use to benefit more people in need.” 

This initiative was supported by the HKSTP MedTech Co-Create Programme, a platform where the local community of healthcare providers can discover and explore the latest biomedical solutions available from HKSTP. 

Looking to the year ahead, HKSTP and HKMA have identified several other areas to strengthen collaboration to further deliver on the Government’s Primary Healthcare Blueprint. The HKMA President Dr Cheng Chi Man noted: “The future of healthcare is shaping up with quality healthcare practitioners and advances in healthcare technology. With HKSTP, we will bring updates to our members on technology and options available to further improve quality of care. We believe a robust care in preventing diseases, empowered with clinically proven technology, will be helpful in relieving the burden of chronic disease management and driving a paradigm shift from passive, treatment-oriented to active, preventive approach”.