Entrepreneurship

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is attracting attention across the world and there are many moves to integrate the field with western medicine.

According to the 2024 Global Hepatitis Report by the World Health Organization, viral hepatitis is the second leading infectious cause of death globally – resulting in 1.3 million deaths per year and an average of 3,500 lives a day.

Hong Kong recently hosted the 26th Beijing-Hong Kong Economic Cooperation Symposium, bringing together political and business leaders from Beijing and Hong Kong to further explore exchanges and cooperation between the two places.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) helped the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) reach a research agreement with AI Medical Service (AIM) – a Japanese medical start-up which develops artificial intelligence (AI) endoscopic diagnostic technology – to accelerate development, promote it in Hong Kong and enhance clinical application in other Asian economies.

A team from the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Medicine has developed patent technologies that can help pharmaceutical companies improve vaccine effectiveness of their products and efficiency of developing vaccines. The start-up has already signed cooperation agreements with a number of pharmaceutical companies to co-develop vaccines.

As the shift to vegetarian diets becomes more deeply rooted in Hong Kong, local start-ups are seizing the opportunity to develop new food technologies. Hong Kong start-up Good Food Technologies has developed a plant-based pork substitute made from konjac (a root vegetable widely cultivated in Asia), coconut oil and soyabeans. The firm's first round of financing attracted HK$12 million (US$1.53 million) which will be used to build new production facilities, develop retail capabilities and grow beyond Hong Kong.