The Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trial Institute (GBAICTI), established and wholly owned by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, was opened today in the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone.

The Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trials Center of the Shenzhen Municipality was concurrently opened in the Shenzhen Park. The establishment of "one institute, one centre" marked the first benchmark for co-ordinated development under "one zone, two parks" of the co-operation zone.

Deputy Chief Secretary Cheuk Wing-hing, Secretary for Health Prof Lo Chung-mau and Deputy Director of the Public Hygiene & Health Commission of Shenzhen Municipality Li Jieyun officiated at the opening ceremony of the GBAICTI.

Apart from noting that the National 14th Five-Year Plan indicated clear support to develop Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub, Mr Cheuk said that the Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science & Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone also expressed staunch support for co-ordinated development of technological innovation of Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

The Deputy Chief Secretary pointed out that with its strategic location in the Hetao area, the institute will bring into full play Hong Kong's unique advantages of a high degree of internationalisation, high-level healthcare professions and scientific research.

By joining hands with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), the GBAICTI will spare no effort to develop new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions by promoting clinical trials and development of the biomedical technologies industry, hence serving the nation's needs with the strengths of Hong Kong, he added.

Additionally, the institute will co-ordinate clinical trial resources in the city’s public and private sectors, including those from the Hospital Authority (HA), private healthcare institutions and universities, serving as a one-stop support platform for medical research institutions while streamlining workflow, and driving training for talent and collaboration across the GBA on all fronts.

Multiple projects will be rolled out in phases, including establishing the Hong Kong Clinical Trial Digital Portal, founding the Clinical Trial Academy, and collaborating with the Department of Health and the HA to have the time for approval and application of drugs reduced to a level with competitiveness in the world.

The institute will also establish strategic partnerships with healthcare and biomedical institutions, including the Hong Kong Genome Institute to leverage its genome database primarily acquired from the Southern Chinese population, spur the opening up of the HA's medical databases to support clinical trials, and attract enterprises of advanced biomedical technologies within and outside Hong Kong to set up operations in Hetao for research and development (R&D) and translation.

Furthermore, the GBAICTI will establish the GBA Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform, together with the Greater Bay Area International Clinical Trials Center, in the Shenzhen Park under the operation of the Shenzhen Medical Academy of Research & Translation, to extend the R&D network and expedite clinical trials.

With a population base of over 86 million within the GBA, the platform will provide support to medical research institutions within and outside Hong Kong and co-ordinate the launch of multicentre cross-boundary clinical trials that can meet both national and international standards.

Through open tender, the Hong Kong SAR Government has designated the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong to operate the GBAICTI.

The institute’s temporary office is located at the Central Government-Aided Emergency Hospital in the Hetao area. It is equipped with an affiliated biobank, managed by the HA and the Chinese University of Hong Kong, that has a capacity to store over 400,000 samples.

In the days to come, the GBAICTI is expected to move into one of the wet laboratory-enabled buildings in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation & Technology Park to provide a platform with more diverse and comprehensive clinical trial facilities and services.

Moreover, the GBAICTI will have a better integration with the complete biomedical technologies R&D and technology industry chain in the GBA, and capitalise on the nation's special policy initiatives that are favourable to Hong Kong, such as the measure of using Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospitals in the GBA and relevant cross-boundary facilitation measures.