The Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau today chaired the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Health & Medical Innovation Development.

The advisory committee receives staunch support from the National Medical Products Administration, with Department of Drug Registration Director Yang Ting joining as official representative of the national drug regulatory authority.

During the meeting, committee members were briefed on the progress of the establishment of the Centre for Medical Products Regulation. The preparatory office for the centre is taking forward measures with the objective of putting forward a timetable for its establishment and the roadmap towards the adoption of "primary evaluation" in the first half of this year.

The measures include examining the need for new legislation, mapping out the strategies to reform the regulatory regime of drugs and medical devices, and advancing plans for "primary evaluation".

The committee members also offered advice on the proposals for establishing the Real-World Study & Application Centre.

The centre aims to enhance access and application of health and medical databases, as well as strengthen collaboration between Hong Kong and the Mainland, particularly in integrating data generated by the use of Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals in the Greater Bay Area.

This is to achieve three major objectives: accelerating the research and development (R&D), approval and market launch of innovative medical products; leveraging data to support evidence-based decision-making; and developing Hong Kong into a leading region and global hub for real-world studies. The Government strives to establish the centre by the end of this year.

Prof Lo said that the Government will strenuously work in line with the national objective of further reforming the medical and healthcare system and take forward the establishment of the two centres by complementing technological innovation with institutional innovation.

“We will fully utilise the institutional advantages of 'one country, two systems' and Hong Kong's professional healthcare strengths to develop the city into an international health and medical innovation hub, thereby enabling patients to benefit from the most advanced diagnostic and treatment technologies and achieving the concept of bringing the benefits of good drugs and R&D to Hong Kong.

“At the same time, we aim to attract more local, Mainland and overseas pharmaceutical and medical device enterprises to conduct R&D and clinical trials in Hong Kong, thereby developing new quality productive forces in biomedicine and a new model for Hong Kong's health and medical innovation development, so as to make further contributions to the overall development of the nation.”