About 180 healthcare startups to showcase innovations at Asia Summit on Global Health. Chief Executive John Lee and World Health Organization deputy director-general Zsuzsanna Jakab among speakers at summit. — SCMP
HONG KONG: Healthcare startups are eyeing potential investors at Hong Kong’s second Asia global health summit to implement their cutting-edge findings and bring fresh ideas to the sector.
The Asia Summit on Global Health, to be held from Thursday to Friday, will showcase innovations from about 180 healthcare start-ups, including Cognitact, led by a Hong Kong University of Science and Technology research team that developed a blood test to provide a diagnosis for Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms appear.
Joyce Ouyang Li, managing director of Cognitact, said: “Our research focuses on detecting biomarkers in blood that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease.”
“With early testing, patients can receive early disease management, which will be helpful in treating the disease ... The disease leads to a heavy burden on family members and society, so early disease management is necessary.”
Li said she expected to recruit investors and business partners at the summit as the company was planning to introduce the blood test to the public in the second quarter of next year.
“We hope that more people will get to know our research findings, which can provide help to the ageing population, and promote our service,” she said.
The summit starting on Thursday marks the second edition of the event. It is among the highlights of the city’s first International Healthcare Week, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council from Nov 1 to 15.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu will deliver the opening remarks for the summit at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on Thursday, while World Health Organization deputy director-general Zsuzsanna Jakab, National Health Commission Vice-Minister Cao Xuetao and Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau are also among the speakers.
Panel discussions at the event will cover topics such as the development of the healthcare sector in mainland China, with a focus on the Greater Bay Area, the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s role as a fundraising hub for biotechnology and healthcare.
A research team from the University of Hong Kong that pioneered Asia’s first stem cell gene therapy that can stop the worsening of metachromatic leukodystrophy, a rare genetic disorder caused by the accumulation of fats in the brain which can cause damage to the organ and eventual death, is also taking part in the summit.
Lian Qizhou, a scientific officer at the Laboratory of Cellular Therapeutics at the university’s faculty of medicine who led the research, said that while Italian researchers had developed stem cell therapy for such patients before the onset of the disease, there was previously no treatments available once the symptoms had emerged.
With stem cell gene therapy technology, he said, damaged genes could be repaired or replaced with functional ones, allowing many incurable diseases to be treated.
Lian added his team had conducted clinical trials on five children who had suffered from the disorder since 2014 and had successfully prevented further brain damage, which could lead to loss of mobility and cognitive functions and death within a few years.
He said he was hoping to establish a start-up with other industry players.
“Through the summit, we can get some support, exchange insights and work together with investors and industry,” he said.
“We are more in the academic area, we need different stakeholders from different fields to form a dynamic team to help translate this new technology into the industry and offer more clinical benefits for patients in the future.”
Among the overseas startups is Televu, a Canadian medical technology company that has developed smart glasses designed for healthcare professionals to have real-time video calls.
A small screen is installed in one of the lenses which shows the visuals of the video calls, while a microphone and speaker are also set up in the glasses, allowing healthcare professionals such as surgeons, dentists and paramedics to receive guidance remotely.
Ryan De’Larami, Televu’s founder and CEO, said the device, which was being used in Africa, as well as Canada and other Western countries, was affordable and replaced a lot of telemedicine equipment that was often bulky and inflexible.
“I’m hoping that we can attract some business partners in Hong Kong and in the mainland and other surrounding countries in Asia-Pacific. We’re a startup so we’re looking for investments as well so hopefully we can get some parties interested,” he said.
The healthcare week also includes the 13th HKTDC Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair, which runs from November 9 to 11, with more than 300 exhibitors from the city and overseas showcasing medical technologies, equipment and products. – South China Morning Post
