Press Release

HKBU and Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co Ltd establish strategic partnership to advance medical education and translational medicine research and application

Tuesday, 29 April 2025

 

Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) and Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co Ltd (SIIC) announced today (29 April) a strategic partnership aimed at leveraging their respective strengths to advance the proposed establishment of Hong Kong’s third medical school, contributing to Hong Kong’s development into an international hub for medical training, research, and innovation. SIIC and its subsidiary Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd (SPH) will also actively participate in HKBU’s newly founded Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute, infusing fresh momentum into medical education, innovative research, and technology translation in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA). 

As one of Asia’s leading higher education institutions, HKBU provides diverse, transdisciplinary, and creative education to nurture future generations of talent. With a strong foundation in biomedical sciences, Chinese medicine, and computer science, HKBU has multiple drug development projects that have been authorised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials or granted orphan drug status. Supported by an extensive network of local and GBA hospitals, medical professionals, and international organisations, HKBU has submitted a proposal to the Hong Kong SAR Government to establish the third medical school in Hong Kong, focusing on innovative education to train high-quality doctors and meet the clinical needs of a rapidly ageing society through the research institute’s focus on innovation, technology translation, and application.

SIIC is an international enterprise rooted in Hong Kong and based in Shanghai, serving national strategies. It focuses on the life and health and environmental health industries, drives an integrated development model of “technology + finance + industry”, and is committed to building a world-class green health industry investment holding group. SIIC ranks among the top in China’s biopharmaceutical field and is actively creating a bio-pharmaceutical innovation ecosystem characterised by collaboration among industry, academia, research, healthcare, capital markets, and insurance.

Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU, said: “We are honoured to have established this strategic partnership with SIIC. Our collaboration will focus on several core areas, including supporting the establishment of the new medical school, promoting research and innovation, integrating healthcare in the GBA, building a collaborative platform, and exploring other areas of mutual interest, and thereby collectively advancing the development of frontier translational medical research.”

Mr Yang Qiuhua, Vice President of SIIC cum Chairman and Executive Director of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group, stated, “SIIC and SPH are delighted to collaborate with HKBU. We actively empower the biopharmaceutical industry’s advancement and breakthrough through research and development. We believe that this partnership will invigorate medical education, heritage and internationalisation of traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong and the GBA, and will foster closer ties in the traceability and innovations of Chinese medicine among Hong Kong, the GBA, and the Yangtze River Delta, aiding the development of our national healthcare.”

The announcement of this strategic partnership was attended by Mr Yang Qiuhua, Vice President of SIIC cum Chairman and Executive Director of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group; Mr Shen Bo, Executive Director and President of SPH; Ms Zhang Lan, Chief Representative of SPH; along with other representatives from SIIC and SPH. Representatives from HKBU included Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor; Professor Lee Sum-ping, Co-Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the New Medical School; Professor Manson Fok, Co-Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the New Medical School cum Founding Member of the Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute; Professor Terence Lau, Interim Chief Innovation Officer; Professor Johnson Lau, Senior Advisor and Member of the Preparatory Committee of the New Medical School cum Founding Member of the Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute; and Professor Michael Ng, Dean of the Faculty of Science. Professor Zhang Nu, Vice President of The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, also witnessed this announcement online.

Professor Johnson Lau also shared the development pipeline of the Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute – a recently announced initiative to advance cutting-edge research and development in medical science and healthcare, focusing on medical devices, diagnostics, vaccines, integrative medicine, Chinese medicine, other biomedical sciences, and the translation of these technologies. It will propel medical discoveries, accelerate innovative medical applications and their advancement to commercialisation and industrialisation.

About Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co Ltd

Founded in Hong Kong in 1981, Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co Ltd (SIIC) has actively contributed to the economic development between Shanghai and Hong Kong, playing a key role in attracting talent and investment, reforming state-owned enterprises, and participating in major municipal projects during Shanghai's reform. In recent years, SIIC has adhered to its strategic positioning of “rooted in Hong Kong, based in Shanghai, serving national strategies, and pursuing international expansion,” focusing on life and environmental health industries, promoting coordinated development through “technology + finance + industry,” and striving to build a world-class green health industry investment holding group. SIIC ranks among the leading enterprises in China’s pharmaceutical industry, striving to be the “chain master enterprise” in Shanghai’s biopharmaceutical industry, creating an open, coordinated biopharmaceutical innovation ecosystem.

About Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd 

Shanghai Pharmaceuticals Holding Co Ltd (SPH) is a vertically-integrated and diversified pharmaceutical group. The company has dual listings on the stock exchanges in Shanghai (601607) and Hong Kong (02067) respectively. The company provides leading healthcare services in: Research & Development, Manufacturing, Distribution and Retail. In 2024, SPH reported revenues of USD38.7bn, and it ranked 411th on the 2024 Global Fortune 500 list, making the company one of the country’s major forces in the industry. SPH is one of the few listed pharmaceutical companies with a leading position in both manufacturing and distribution in China. It is included in the constituent stocks of the SSE 180, CSI 300 index and MSCI.

About HKBU

As one of Asia’s finest institutions of higher education, Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is committed to nurturing future-shaping talents, providing them with a broad-based, transdisciplinary and creative education, as well as offering a diverse range of programmes spanning the arts, business, Chinese medicine, communication, social sciences, science, technology and sport. To tap into the strengths of the University, HKBU has established four overarching research clusters in key areas of excellence that cover Creative Media and Practice, Health and Drug Discovery, Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, and Humanities and Cultures, translating its research excellence into tangible benefits, with positive impact for the community and the development of Hong Kong, the nation, the region and the world.

 

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(From left) Professor Manson Fok, Co-Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the New Medical School cum Founding Member of the Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute at HKBU; Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU; Mr Yang Qiuhua, Vice President of SIIC cum Chairman and Executive Director of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group; and Mr Shen Bo, Executive Director and President of SPH, attend the press conference announcing the strategic partnership.
Guests attending the press conference: (From left) Professor Michael Ng, Dean of the Faculty of Science at HKBU; Professor Terence Lau, Interim Chief Innovation Officer of HKBU; Professor Johnson Lau, Senior Advisor and Member of the Preparatory Committee of the New Medical School cum Founding Member of the Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute at HKBU; Professor Lee Sum-ping, Co-Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the New Medical School at HKBU; Professor Manson Fok, Co-Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the New Medical School cum Founding Member of the Frontier Translational Medical Research Institute at HKBU; Professor Alex Wai, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKBU; Mr Yang Qiuhua, Vice President of SIIC cum Chairman and Executive Director of Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group; Mr Shen Bo, Executive Director and President of SPH; Ms Zhang Lan, Chief Representative of SPH; Dr Xu Qing, Deputy General Manager, Office of the Board of Directors of SIIC; Mr Wei Mingyang, General Manager of the Strategy Development Department and General Manager of the Business Development Department of SPH; Mr Liu Li, Deputy Director of the Central Research Institute and Director of the Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine of SPH; Professor Zhang Nu, Vice President of The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University (attends online).