Learn about China’s biomedical breakthroughs, from cutting-edge pharmaceuticals to life-saving research, driving global health innovation.

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Biomedicine

Business

Novel drug awaits Hong Kong diabetics suffering from debilitating eye disease

Oculis’ OCS-01 eye drops, currently in phase 3 trials for diabetic macular edema, can be an alternative to injection, CEO says.

16 Dec 2024 - 9:07AMvideocam

Health & Fitness

China expands health insurance coverage with 91 new drugs, innovative treatments

29 Nov 2024 - 4:42PMvideocam

Biomedicine: Companies

Chinese biotech firms brace for Trump tariffs, US funding bill

22 Nov 2024 - 7:30AM

Tech Trends

Hong Kong

Vaccine shows promise in curing HIV, Hong Kong start-up says

‘We may be on the brink of a breakthrough,’ Dr Edward Leong, advisory board chairman of Immuno Cure says.

14 Nov 2024 - 8:39PM

A Hong Kong biotech start-up says its first-phase trial of a therapeutic HIV vaccine has shown promising results. Photo: dpa

Big Tech

Shenzhen

Shenzhen’s soaring R&D spending rivals Beijing, dwarfs Hong Kong

The southern city put nearly US$31 billion into R&D last year, driven partly by robust spending from tech giants like Huawei.

13 Nov 2024 - 10:43PM

Companies

Health in China

Chinese pharmaceutical companies look abroad for growth markets

Shanghai Henlius struck a deal in Saudi Arabia while XtalPi signed a partnership with Sinar Mas Multiartha in Indonesia.

11 Nov 2024 - 7:01PM

Biomedicine

Greater Bay Area

Hong Kong health-tech start-ups create digital wearables for seniors

With a regulatory approach that expands the market for such devices to the Greater Bay Area, local companies see opportunity for growth.

3 Nov 2024 - 12:39PMvideocam

Senior Hongkongers exercise at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. Photo: Dickson Lee

Tech Trends

Biomedicine: Policy

Shanghai to back local biopharma firms’ overseas push, regulatory compliance

The initiative aims to generate about US$7 billion from medical product exports by 2027.

1 Nov 2024 - 7:00AMvideocam

Business

FII conference

Hong Kong start-ups eye Middle East capital under new accord with venture fund

Start-ups with expertise in artificial intelligence, biotech and green energy can contribute to Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification agenda.

29 Oct 2024 - 9:57PM

Biomedicine

Biomedicine: Companies

Hong Kong health tech: private-public alliance advances male HPV testing

Neo-Health Group says its device, developed with a government-backed research institute, will also help test for skin infections and cancers.

17 Oct 2024 - 8:30AM

The Nanoswab device viewed through an optical microscope. Photo: Handout

Biomedicine

Cancer

CK Life’s Yuen banks on Big Pharma experience to boost new drug success

Lance Yuen spent two decades at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Bayer in the region before becoming the CEO at CK Life Sciences last month.

8 Oct 2024 - 7:13PM

CK Life Sciences management (from left) Wendy Tong Barnes, chief corporate affairs officer Wendy Tong-Barnes, CEO Lance Yuen, deputy chairman Alan Yu, chief scientific officer Melvin Toh, and vice president corporate development Cecilia Ho

Wuxi AppTec

WuXi AppTec, WuXi Biologics rise in Hong Kong as some operations go up for sale

The gains were made on the back of a report that said the two firms plan to sell certain overseas operations amid heightened US scrutiny.

4 Oct 2024 - 6:00PM

China Business

China stock market

Wuxi AppTec’s upbeat business update boosts stock despite US bill

A presentation persuaded investors that risk of a potential US blacklisting is low while growth in some business areas is ‘unprecedented’.

29 Sep 2024 - 4:15PM

China Opinion

US-China relations

Opinion | Is biotech the next battleground in US-China decoupling?

With both countries viewing technological leadership as a zero-sum game, the risk of a fragmented global innovation ecosystem is growing.

25 Sep 2024 - 4:50PMvideocam

Science

China’s strides in academic research seen to narrow US lead in medical science

Growing momentum in research sets China up as a formidable player in future of global healthcare, according to scientific publishers.

25 Sep 2024 - 4:14PMvideocam

China’s overall research output is slowly overtaking the United States, especially in the field of medicine, according to academic publishers. Photo: Shutterstock

Science

China-born scientist Chen Zhijian wins ‘America’s Nobel’ for medical research

Texas-based Chen wins Albert Lasker Award for discovery of enzyme cGAS, holding out ‘promise for fighting infectious diseases and cancer’.

25 Sep 2024 - 4:16PM

Science

China wants humans to live healthier, longer by sequencing 1% of world’s population

The proposed Human Genome Project II could set in motion a ‘paradigm shift’ toward more precise public health, and a global research alliance.

25 Sep 2024 - 4:15PMvideocam

Science

Who is on the growing list of China-linked scientists under US investigation?

The targeting of scientists in the United States for suspected Chinese ties reached a peak in 2018 and continues to affect a very altered research environment.

6 Sep 2024 - 9:56AM

Many of the scientists accused by the US of having improper links with China were later cleared of wrongdoing. Shutterstock

Politics

Medicine

China targets hi-tech drug and medical equipment industries for support

State Council unveils plans to promote development in the areas over the next two years.

26 Aug 2023 - 10:00PMvideocam

Science

China Initiative left researchers feeling ‘targeted, alienated’, US agency says

The National Institutes of Health is taking steps to repair relations with Asian researchers, but damage is ‘long-lasting and almost irreversible’, scientist says.

26 Aug 2024 - 8:17PMvideocam

Science

Chinese diet shift to more meat to cost US$14 billion in health spending: study

Scientists say amid China’s healthcare system development and reform, ‘transitioning to a plant-based diet will be crucial’.

25 Sep 2024 - 4:17PMvideocam

Chinese researchers say the increased investment in healthcare as a result of dietary burden hinders “the economic progress of the country and its residents toward affluence”. Photo: Shutterstock Images

OPINION

Marina Yue Zhang

Opinion | Is biotech the next battleground in US-China decoupling?

25 Sep 2024 - 4:50PM

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