In order to support and foster start-ups in research and development for infectious illnesses and immunology, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) has partnered with a leading global biopharmaceutical company that is driven by research.
In order to support start-ups through business growth, mentorship, and investment programs, HKSTP is committed to working with industry experts to create the strongest I&T eco-system. The government’s strategic focus on biomedical technology, which includes an allocation of HK$10 billion to develop life and health technology as a key future growth sector for Hong Kong, has coincided with a tripling of the number of biotech companies at HKSTP in the last five years, from 50 to over 150.
A significant step in the advancement of Hong Kong’s biomedical technology is being made with this agreement between HKSTP and the top biopharmaceutical company. To utilize the full capabilities of the HKSTP ecosystem and the broad biotech funding network of the biopharmaceutical leader, qualified start-ups in the fields of infectious illnesses and immunology from across the world, as well as locally, can apply to the incubation program.
The HKSTP offers incubate expert advice on commercialization, manufacturing, scaling-up, and marketing strategy to ensure successful innovation, as well as critical funding opportunities and investment insight from BI. Incubatees can also access one-on-one coaching and assessment to track key research milestones.
According to the CEO of HKSTP, Hong Kong is now the largest fundraising hub for biotech in Asia and the second-largest in the world. With world-class leaders like the biopharmaceutical industry, HKSTP’s objective is to drive the growth of biotech to a new level as it enters its second decade of fostering success and innovation. To ensure that the area develops into a worldwide I&T powerhouse, the goal is to maximize the GBA growth opportunities for high-potential tech people and early-stage start-ups.
The relationship, according to the head of HKSTP’s Institute for Translational Research, provides potential university spinoffs and early-stage start-ups with crucial support at the pivotal point of their difficult and protracted path toward biotech innovation.
The number of incubators has doubled in the past five years, and they will have access to the HKSTP’s Incu-Bio Program. The start-ups are also eligible for financial support of up to HK$6 million, including grants up front and financial subsidies to pay for regulatory expenses like clinical studies.
The co-incubation program, which was jointly started, will allow the company to find new ground-breaking inventions in their early stages of development, according to the global head of the leading biopharmaceutical company. The start-ups will be encouraged, and the gap between science and industry can be bridged to assist the local ecosystem, thanks to the finance and infrastructure support provided by the two parties’ skills and experiences in the successful creation of breakthrough pharmaceuticals for patients.
According to the President & CEO of the biopharmaceutical leader’s China division, Asia’s biopharmaceutical industry is becoming increasingly innovative. The corporation has established the External Innovation Hub in China in order to seize the prospects in this market. He continued by saying that this is a fantastic chance to work with HKSTP to expand the neighborhood ecosystem and improve China’s dual-circulation system.
The HKSTP Institute for Translational Research (ITR), which enables biomedical start-ups to transform their innovative biomedical technologies into life-changing impacts on patients and society, is one of the rapidly expanding biotech R&D capabilities that the program incubates will also take advantage of. HKSTP’s Incu-Bio program, which offers dedicated biotech mentoring, business matching, entrepreneur-in-residence opportunities, access to R&D facilities, and access to the varied talent pool of the Science Parks, is also available to start-ups.