AZHK recognised in the Pharmaceuticals category at HKB International Business Awards

The company won for their Hong Kong Health Innovation Hub.

International science-led biopharmaceutical organisation AstraZeneca Hong Kong Limited (AZHK) was acknowledged by Hong Kong Business magazine with the Pharmaceuticals category trophy in the HKB International Business Awards 2020 for their Hong Kong Health Innovation Hub.

The HKB International Business Awards recognises the most revolutionary initiatives and most outstanding practices amongst international enterprises in Hong Kong.

“Through the establishment of Hong Kong Health Innovation Hubs, AstraZeneca is building a network of physical locations and virtual partnerships that will work to solve, scale and showcase innovative and holistic health solutions—a key step forward in our commitment to delivering truly patient-centric disease management,” the establishment said in a press release.

Focused on treating diseases in oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, as well as respiratory, AstraZeneca has set up Emerging Markets Health Innovation hubs across the globe, alongside a vision to build and fortify partnerships with stakeholders to accelerate innovation, drive healthcare access, and enhance societal outcomes.

Hong Kong’s very own Health Innovation Hub was established in September 2019 in cooperation with the Society for Innovative Healthcare Hong Kong (SIHHK) and diagnostics company, Sanomics. The organization subsequently partnered with stem cell biotechnology pioneer Novoheart in their endeavors.

In the hub, SIHHK partners exchange and tackle future opportunities for collaboration on healthcare innovation with Jiangnan University Affiliated Hospital and the Wuxi Health and Health Committee. Discussions revolve around engineering better medical solutions for patients, which cover supporting schemes to incorporate smart hospitals and health management models, using Internet of Things technologies to design and maximise patient-centric care for heart failure, cancer care, and innovation health care strategies.

AZHK has constructed at least five strategic partnerships with start-ups, academics, NGOs, and medical societies to engineer smart patient-centric solutions in the Hong Kong. It signed the first memorandum of understanding (MOU) in June with Belun Technology and Hong Kong Elderly Welfare Foundation to develop an innovative disease management plan to benefit the chronically ill patients like hypertension, diabetes or even COPD with charitable support.

Earlier this year, the Hong Kong Health Innovation Hub spearheaded a collaboration with The Chinese University of Hong Kong to leverage whole genome sequencing and computational biology to unearth biological pathways implicated in Diabetic Kidney Disease, with the primary objective of solving existing unmet therapeutic demands for the illness. 

Apart from fostering partnerships, AZHK is also committed to supporting biomedical and healthcare technology innovation. It plans to continue collaborating with the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks (HKSTP) Biomedical Technology Cluster to help incubate and accelerate the expansion of promising start-ups by taking advantage of their 18,000-strong network of colleagues in AstraZeneca China.

In a more relevant light, AZHK has also supplied real solutions that supported the local community amidst the pandemic. 

Upon awareness that some patients afflicted with chronic illness can encounter challenges in obtaining ‘Self-Financed Items (SFI)’ medications during the outbreak, the company supported two medical associations to introduce a pilot program that caters to the immediate demands of hundreds of patients whilst creating a healthcare experience they can share with government authorities in the future.

Working with HK Telemedicine Association, AZHK arranged various educational activities with hundreds of healthcare professionals to promote telemedicine, which can assist in keeping up efficient medical communication with chronic illness patients.

Additionally, AZHK also supported medical societies as well as a biotechnology enterprise offering new online cancer solutions for patients through remote video multi-disciplinary team meetings.

Looking forward, AZHK will continue to leverage its networks, resources and capabilities with cross-sector partnerships to promote and enrich the innovative incubation platform that attracts local partners to integrate R&D, incubation, and demonstrations, covering the whole life cycle in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Business Awards 2020, presented by Hong Kong Business magazine, was held via video conferencing in September.

This year’s nominations were judged by a panel consisting of Eugene Liu, Managing Partner at RSM Hong Kong; Charbon Lo, Director at Crowe (HK) CPA Limited; Andy Wong, IPO Leader at SHINEWING (HK) CPA Limited; Anthony Tam, Executive Director at Mazars Hong Kong; and Edward Au, Managing Partner at Deloitte China.

If you would like to join the 2021 awards and be acclaimed as one of the outstanding companies in Hong Kong, please email Jane Patiag at [email protected].