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The fee revamp took effect on January 1. Photo: Sun Yeung
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong hospital A&E department visits fall 12% after new fees take effect

Number of people benefiting from fee waivers under new pricing regime that started on January 1 triples.

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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Hong Kong’s late summer flu season is over. But official says jabs still vital

Artificial intelligence

Dose of uncertainty: experts wary of AI health tech gadgets at CES trade show

Made in China 2025

Chinese biotechs strike a record US$136 billion in out-licensing deals in 2025

Chinese drug makers signed 157 out-licensing deals with global pharmaceutical firms last year versus 94 a year earlier.

Last year, China approved 76 innovative drugs, including 47 chemical drugs and 23 biologics. Photo: Shutterstock
Made in China 2025

Meow or never: China’s pudgy pets spark race for weight-loss drugs

Fosun and Huadong biotech labs eye feline obesity drugs as owners weigh cuteness against health risks.

United States

Medical groups win right to challenge RFK Jnr’s Covid-19 vaccine policies

Judge lets medical groups challenge Kennedy’s CDC vaccine changes, citing health risks to public health and unlawful panel influence.

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Thailand

Thailand tightens cannabis sales as dispensaries face closure ahead of election

Thailand, the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis in 2022, tightens rules to appeal to conservative voters ahead of pivotal election.

A staff member prepares a cannabis flower for a customer in Bangkok in June 2025, after Thailand banned sales without a prescription. Photo: AP
Hong Kong society

Editorial | As Hong Kong’s public hospital fees rise, balance must be the watchword

Accessibility and affordability should be prioritised, especially given the city’s ageing population increasingly prone to chronic illnesses.

Science

China’s biopharma sector ‘in prime position to challenge US leadership’

American commission issues stark warning, as analytics firm Clarivate reports that Chinese innovative drug development has entered new phase.

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Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Low-income patients call for more help as steeper Hong Kong hospital fees loom

From January 1, patients will need to pay more for certain services, and while safety net will also be widened, some people have fallen through the cracks.

Public hospital fee increases come into effect on January 1. Photo: Sun Yeung
Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Genomic sequencing puts Hong Kong at forefront of cancer care innovation

Scientist Aya El Helali says research speeds up cancer treatment discovery and helps the city bridge mainland China with global drug development.

Aya El Helali is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Hong Kong’s department of clinical oncology. Photo: Jonathan Wong
India

As India’s US$70 million obesity drug market bulges, so does price war

Pharmaceutical giants like Lilly and Nordisk are battling for dominance in India’s weight-loss market with price cuts and early launches.

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Science

In world first, Chinese surgeons save patient’s ear with graft onto foot

The ear was torn off in an industrial accident and was successfully reattached to the woman’s scalp several months later.

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Wellness

As weight-loss drugs reduce appetites, US restaurants cut portion sizes

Some New York restaurants are offering smaller portions at lower prices to appeal to those on hunger-reducing GLP-1 weight-loss medications.

A chef at Le Petit Village in New York prepares half-sized portions of their brunch menu items, designed to appeal to people taking GLP-1 weight-loss medications, on December 10, 2025. Photo: AFP
Wellness

No need for needles? US approves Wegovy pill for weight loss

Novo Nordisk’s daily medication offers an oral alternative to blockbuster injections, with a launch expected in early January.

A weight loss pill could help open the door to tens of millions of untapped patients in a global market. Photo: Shutterstock
Wellness

7 of the most popular health and wellness stories from 2025

Body transformations, scientific breakthroughs and weight-loss journeys are among your most-read health and wellness stories this year.

Wellness

Need to pass gas after eating? Why taking a short walk is so good for you

‘If you take 100 steps after each meal, you’ll live to 99,’ an ancient Chinese proverb says. Here is why a post-meal walk is so beneficial.

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European Union

Trump tariffs push Swiss pharma CEO to urge price alignment with US

Switzerland and the United States are locked in negotiations on the details of a deal slashing a whopping 39 per cent levy to 15 per cent.

A 3D-printed miniature model of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Switzerland flag and the word ‘Tariffs’ in this illustration from July 23. Photo: Reuters
The Philippines

‘Medical pork’ row exposes political grip over Philippine health assistance

Doctors and health groups say the system allows politicians to influence who receives state medical aid, undermining universal care.

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United States

Are Chinese biotechs what the doctor ordered as Big Pharma faces ‘patent cliff’?

US drug makers are racing to plug looming ‘patent cliff’ revenue gaps – and increasingly they are turning to China biotechs.

Hong Kong healthcare and hospitals

Editorial | Hong Kong well set to raise the global bar for Chinese medicine

A new blueprint and hospital could be just the right medicine to help achieve the central government’s goals for the Greater Bay Area.

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau receives moxibustion therapy at the new Chinese medicine hospital in Tseung Kwan O. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Diplomacy

Outside In | Six years on, are we better prepared for the next pandemic?

Preparedness plans remain a work in progress while health budgets have been sliced by urgent demands and US withdrawal weakens global coordination.

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A woman walks past the National Covid Memorial Wall in London, Britain, on November 20. Photo: EPA
Made in China 2025

China’s pharmaceutical industry transforms into a global innovation powerhouse

The China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Invention Index, a new gauge, highlights top drug makers on the mainland for the first time.

France

‘Used medicine to kill’: French doctor jailed for life for poisoning patients

Prosecutors allege Frederic Pechier tampered with IV bags to discredit colleagues, resulting in 12 deaths, including a four-year-old.

Science

How Chinese scientists turn allergy into a powerful weapon against cancer

Mast cell platform can expand to carry other payloads, such as molecules, viruses, proteins and drug-loaded nanoparticles.

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A Chinese team of researchers loaded mast cells – which cause allergic symptoms when they encounter antigens such as seafood and pollen – with anticancer drugs to deliver them into tumours. Illustration: Shutterstock
Donald Trump

Trump considers reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug

Reclassification could have ripple effects in the US, and represent one of the most significant federal changes to marijuana policy in decades.

Dozens of US states already have legal medical marijuana programmes, and many also have approved its recreational use. Photo: TNS
Singapore

‘It’s life’: ex-NBA star in Singapore for brain cancer treatment exudes hope

Jason Collins, who is seeking an experimental treatment, has progressed from being ‘basically a vegetable’ to taking a two-hour walk.

Science

Sperm quality decline: could easy-to-use balm from China solve the crisis?

In China, unhealthy lifestyles, pollution and work-related stress are cited in public health discussions around declining sperm quality.

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