Miltenyi Biotec Hong Kong Limited has just launched according to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP). The Hong Kong subsidiary serves as the business’s regional research and development (R&D) centre, allowing the company to transmit its cutting-edge cell and gene therapy technologies, products, and services to Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and the Asia-Pacific area.
The Hong Kong arm of the biotech firm will make its breakthrough cell and gene therapy solutions available to patients and clients in China and the APAC region, leveraging Hong Kong Science Park’s world-class infrastructure and dynamic environment.
The company believes in the immense potential biomedical research and cellular therapies offered in China and the APAC area, according to the General Manager of the firm’s APAC & China subsidiary. Many excellent scientific institutes and talented innovators might use the biotech company’s solutions to accomplish extraordinary results.
The Park recently inaugurated the Institute for Translational Research to drive the translation of biological technology to serve the public, according to the head of the Institute for Translational Research at HKSTP. HKSTP envisions limitless prospects for collaboration and co-creation with synergies for translational research and development with the company’s recent accession to the I&T ecosystem.
The company, which is headquartered in Germany, has 30 years of experience in advancing biomedical research and enabling cell and gene therapy. They have over 17,000 goods available for research and clinical use. Approximately 6,000 patients are treated each year with cellular therapies developed using the company’s technologies.
According to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Hong Kong has the world’s longest life expectancy due to its advanced healthcare services, and the city expects a more aging population in the coming years, comparable to many developed nations. The number of people aged 65 and older is expected to rise from 18.4% of the total population in 2019 to 33.3 percent in 2039.
The demand for healthcare services and products is increasing as the population ages and consumers become more health concerned. In 2019-20, Hong Kong’s total public and private health expenditure is expected to be roughly HK$189.6 billion (US$24.3 billion), or 6.8% of GDP, according to the Food and Health Bureau.
The medical and healthcare industry in Hong Kong is organized into two key sectors: medical and healthcare equipment and devices and biotechnology, medical and healthcare services. The medical and healthcare equipment and devices sector in Hong Kong mostly caters to the domestic consumer market. After a 2 percent dip the previous year, Hong Kong’s overall exports of medical and healthcare equipment climbed by 17.5 percent in 2020.
In the healthcare industry, technology plays a significant role. Smart hospitals and telehealth are examples of innovative and long-term solutions to the issues posed by increased service demand. Biotechnology was recognized as one of the four priority sectors for developing innovation and technology in the HKSAR Government’s 2018-19 Budget (I&T).
For biotech businesses, Hong Kong is a favored IPO destination. Hong Kong was Asia Pacific’s largest IPO center for biotech businesses, according to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). After the United States, it was the world’s second-largest economy.
For Hong Kong healthcare enterprises, the expansion of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) presents a number of opportunities. Hong Kong-registered medications and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals would be permitted in approved Hong Kong-owned healthcare facilities operating in the GBA’s nine mainland cities, according to the 2020 Policy Address.