DISCOVER HKBU
New milestones in drug development and pharmaceutical research
28 Jan 2025
On January 23, the Institute for Innovation, Translation and Policy Research (ITPR) and HKBU’s Wu Jieh Yee Institute of Translational Chinese Medicine Research, in partnership with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, hosted a symposium titled “Roadmap to U.S. FDA Clinical Trial” at the Hong Kong Science Park.
The event showcased the advancements in pharmaceutical development at HKBU, fostering knowledge transfer and partnerships among the academia, government, industry, and the investment community. It also highlighted projects that are transforming Chinese medicine into Western drugs based on a standard pharmaceutical development approach.
Fostering a holistic ecosystem for drug development
In her opening address, Ms Lillian Cheong, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, highlighted the government's efforts to promote collaboration across sectors, with the aim to establish a holistic ecosystem that fuels Hong Kong’s technology development and translation. “I am glad to be here to witness the collaboration between Hong Kong Baptist University, Macau University of Science and Technology and Avalon Biomedical Management Limited, which demonstrates the integration of university expertise and industry capability to drive technology transfer and commercialisation of research outputs, paving the way for another new drug which will be developed in Hong Kong,” Ms Cheong stated.
Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU, addressed the challenges in drug discovery and regulatory approval. “This symposium aims to shed light on this complicated process, highlighting the innovative strategies to bridge this gap. It is our pleasure to welcome several esteemed experts today who will share their latest innovation as well as their substantial experiences in novel drugs development. We are confident that this symposium will provide valuable insights, foster collaboration, and inspire new market potential. Importantly, some of the projects presented today have represented our attempts to develop some of the Chinese medicine with single active moiety into Western medicine using a standard pharmaceutical development approach. This expertise represents one of the innovations in medical education that we would like to build into our proposal for the new medical school, which will be submitted to the Task Group on the New Medical School soon.”
Throughout the symposium, speakers shared insights into the drug development process, emphasising the need for a comprehensive roadmap in translational and regulatory compliance leading to U.S. FDA clinical trials.
Professor Dennis Lam, Adjunct Senior Investigator of HKBU, a world-leading ophthalmologist, and also Hong Kong Deputy to the National People's Congress and Member of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR Government, discussed his work on a highly absorbed oral Berberine for metabolic diseases, noting its potential clinical indications, including fatty liver for inducing weight loss, and also for Alzheimer’s disease.
Professor Johnson Lau, Adjunct Senior Investigator of HKBU, shed light on the potential challenges in drug development, and also introduced the development of a new oral drug absorption enhancement platform with an anti-cancer for the first candidate, to establish a patient-friendly and affordable oral dosage form.
Professor Bian Zhaoxiang, Associate Vice-President (Clinical Chinese Medicine) of HKBU, who has made significant milestone in herbal medicine development including obtaining regulatory allowance for the Investigational New Drug (IND) applications from U.S. FDA and the National Medical Products Administration of China, explained the innovations in his herbal drug development effort.
The symposium also featured an exhibition of 12 remarkable drug development projects at HKBU, representing a diverse range of research efforts, from AI for health science, medical device, to Chinese medicine in One Health applications.
Transforming research into therapeutic solutions
During the symposium, a tri-partite research collaboration was announced between HKBU, the Faculty of Medicine at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST), and Avalon Biomedical Management Limited (Avalon) on a joint research project titled “The Development of a Highly Absorbed Oral Berberine for Metabolic Diseases”. The project aims to develop an effective oral formulation of berberine and encequidar. This collaboration seeks to blend traditional Chinese medicine and Western drug development methodologies, leveraging the expertise and clinical resources of both universities, as well as Avalon’s capabilities in technology transfer.
HKBU has long been committed to advancing health sciences and new drug development. By leveraging its transdisciplinary strengths, HKBU is spearheading the development of next-generation preventive measures, diagnosis, and therapeutic interventions for complex human diseases.
