Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) recently signed a co-incubation partnership with a leading science and technology company. The partnership is the tech firm’s first co-incubation programme in Hong Kong and will accelerate the growth of biomedical tech start-ups engaged in digital health solutions while fostering the overall development of digital health to enhance human wellbeing.
As demand from patients continues to increase, healthcare service providers and other stakeholders are working to digitalise the patient journey. HKSTP and the tech firm will collaborate to open up new R&D opportunities for start-ups. The goal is to bring innovative digital solutions including but not limited to digital therapeutics, digital wearable devices and AI drug discovery and development, to address unmet medical needs.
The CEO at HKSTP stated that the Park and the tech firm share the same vision of impacting life and health with science and technology, they aim to gather world-class scientists, entrepreneurs, and game changers to innovate for good. This partnership provides an ideal environment to co-incubate ground-breaking ideas from research to market-ready solutions and impactful innovation, while fulfilling the vision of transforming Hong Kong into a global biotech hub.
The Managing Director of the firm’s Hong Kong arm stated that the region has boundless potential and innovative capacities, and the innovations in digital health are reshaping future healthcare. As a science and technology company, the tech firm believes in the power of curiosity to drive human progress and innovation powered by data and digital.
Through various support, mentorship initiatives and co-incubation programs, the partnership aims to promote and nurture the best start-up companies that augment the landscape of digital health solutions in the country. The firm looks forward to witnessing exciting ideas spring from this program, ones that will benefit patients in need and make a positive impact on the wider community.
The three-year collaboration will pave the way for start-ups around the globe to rapidly commercialise digital health products by leveraging the full capacity of HKSTP’s ecosystem and the firm’s extensive investor and strategic partner network. The tech firm will provide deep industry insight and help connect promising start-ups to the tech company’s Innovation Hub strategic partners and business units to explore market opportunities in emerging markets.
Supported by the thriving biotech ecosystem in Hong Kong and the city’s status as the second largest biotech fundraising hub in the world, the co-incubation partnership operates under the HKSTP’s existing Incu-Bio programme which provides start-ups with direct funding of up to HK$6M, investment opportunities, connections to HKSTP’s biomedical cluster and lab facilities to bring ideation to commercialisation.
This is all directed under HKSTP’s Institute for Translational Research (ITR) which is an ecosystem-wide platform dedicated to driving transformation in healthcare, by accelerating the entire process of turning biomedical research into impactful innovation. The current partnership also provides the potential for HKSTP and the tech firm to explore further collaboration on additional scopes such as Smart Manufacturing and Electronics.
Hong Kong has the highest life expectancy in the world as a result of its advanced healthcare services, and the city expects a more ageing population similar to many developed economies in the future. The number of elderly people aged 65 or above is projected to increase from 20% of the total population in 2021 to 33.3% in 2039.
Hong Kong’s medical and healthcare industry can be divided into two major categories, namely the medical & healthcare equipment and devices sector, and the biotechnology, medical & healthcare services sector.
HKSTP is a major player in promoting technological innovation in the city. It has identified biomedical technology (BMT) as one of its five key technology clusters and aims to support biomedical research from innovation to commercialisation. In 2020‑21, the biomedical technology sector grew rapidly. As of 31 March 2021, 156 biomedical technology companies and start‑ups had established their R&D hubs at the Biomedical Technology (BMT) Cluster at HKSTP.