On 21 August, the State Council announced that it had approved in principle a plan to accelerate opening up and innovation across the entire biopharmaceutical industrial chain in the China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen are deepening their collaboration in biomedicine, aiming for joint innovation and development in this field. While Hong Kong is the regional leader in medical services and technology with abundant international resources, Shenzhen has a strong foundation in R&D as well as manufacturing. Hong Kong and Shenzhen can each leverage their strengths to jointly give impetus to the globalisation efforts of their respective biomedicine sectors. With their deepening co-operation in the areas of bioscience, the two cities will be able to build closer collaboration ties and jointly deal with global challenges to achieve success.

Guangdong is stepping up its development of the biomedicine industry, including giving support to connecting the nine Mainland cities with Hong Kong and Macao in the GBA and further promoting the sector’s upgrading and development through mutual complementarity, co-operation in technology innovation, and market development and promotion. This focus on technology innovation and market development is opening significant opportunities for biomedical industries across Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.

The Hong Kong government is sparing no efforts to develop new-quality productive forces tailored to local conditions in line with national policies, including developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub. The government is taking positive steps to reform the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices and strengthen biomedical R&D and translation. As the super connector and super value-adder, Hong Kong’s service platform not only can assist mainland biomedical companies in going out to develop their international business but can continuously attract overseas companies to join Hong Kong and mainland counterparts in tapping business opportunities.

The FDA has issued an import alert that it said aims to help stop imports of potentially dangerous GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) active pharmaceutical ingredients from unverified foreign sources.

China’s e-commerce retail market is undergoing seemingly never-ending changes. At the same time, over recent years, many previously offline-oriented companies have begun actively exploring the e-commerce retail models appropriate to their business needs. For its part, Kangfu Zhijia Health Industry Group, a specialist in healthcare supplies and medical equipment, has significantly boosted its sales over the past 20 years by adjusting and developing its e-commerce channels.

Some Hong Kong drug manufacturers and local universities have been actively developing new proprietary Chinese medicine lately for further market expansion. A notable example is a product based on the classic “ma zi ren wan” herbal medicine formula, developed by Hong Kong Baptist University. This product completed the phase I clinical trials as a Western medicine with the approval of the US Food and Drug Administration, the trials being completed in 2024.

Hong Kong has many long-established and reputable proprietary Chinese medicine brands. With the transitional registration system for proprietary Chinese medicines ending in late June, the regulatory framework for Chinese medicine has entered a new phase. Additionally, the Mainland has implemented simplified approval procedures for the market registration of traditional proprietary Chinese medicines registered in Hong Kong, facilitating Hong Kong businesses in expanding into the Mainland market. These developments are expected to have a positive impact on Hong Kong’s proprietary Chinese medicine industry.

Hong Kong has many long-established and reputable proprietary Chinese medicine brands. With the transitional registration system for proprietary Chinese medicines ending in late June, the regulatory framework for Chinese medicine has entered a new phase. Additionally, the Mainland has implemented simplified approval procedures for the market registration of traditional proprietary Chinese medicines registered in Hong Kong, facilitating Hong Kong businesses in expanding into the Mainland market. These developments are expected to have a positive impact on Hong Kong’s proprietary Chinese medicine industry.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a temporary order adopting import and export restrictions on certain benzimidazole-opioid substances.