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approval and tax breaks, to facilitate research and development of this disease. Research on such diseases with obvious regional
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Policy recommendations for the governments of Hong Kong and Shenzhen
orphan drugs. By designating rare diseases as a key research area, association is not only advantageous to the institute, but also highly
the institute should be able to attract transnational biomedical significant. On one hand, the higher number of patients in the
enterprises which are leaders in rare disease research to set up a region can facilitate research, and on the other, the regional
presence in the Loop, thereby fostering commercialisation of the characteristic substantially increases uniqueness of research. As
institute’s advanced research outcomes and expediting the such, the institute stands a chance of developing into a reputable
formation of a biotech industrial cluster. Such an operating model organisation with world leadership in these areas of research.
may achieve similar results in other advanced fields of study or
disciplines. Independent operation from universities: the institute should
operate independently from its member institutions. Doing so can
In addition to providing competitive remuneration and benefits ensure the institute’s autonomy in terms of financial management,
packages, opportunities for pursuing advanced research and daily operation and research directions. Being free from
achieving scientific breakthroughs are highly attractive to administrative or financial restrictions placed by member institutions,
world-class researchers and enterprises. Moreover, the institute the institute can expedite project progress of advanced research. In
can also introduce stringent regulatory mechanism in advanced this area, much can be learnt from the mode of management of the
fields of technology on the cutting edge of science, such as stem Broad Institute and the Francis Crick Institute (see Table 7 above).
cells and gene therapies, with a view to developing the Loop into a
national regulatory node, establishing a pilot area for international The biotech mega research institute can facilitate the development of
biotech regulatory standards setting, and speeding up the reform an industrial cluster and a robust biotech ecosystem. In the long run,
of the Mainland’s clinical trial and healthcare regimes. it may provide advanced research support to leading transnational
biomedical enterprises and build up a talent pool for enterprises of
Addressing regional concerns: the institute should consider different sizes. Therefore, building on the basis of
addressing medical challenges of a regional nature. For instance, Recommendations 1.1 and 1.2, the Loop may make greater effort
primary liver cancer is a common form of malignant tumour in to attract high quality enterprises to establish a presence. Driven by
China, which accounts for more than half of the new cases of the the mega research institute, the industrial cluster may develop a
world; 80% of the world’s nasopharynx cancer patients live in “talent-research-enterprise” virtuous circle that lays a solid
China and Southeast Asia, and each year, between 35,000 to foundation for the development of the HK-SZ biotech industry.
40,000 people from Southern China and Southeast Asia die from

52 According to the “Work Procedures for Review and Approval of Overseas New Drugs Catering to Clinical Urgent Needs”, the Center for Drug Evaluation of NMPA has established special
channels for a list of overseas new drugs catering to urgent clinical needs, in which technical review will be completed in three months after acceptance for orphan drugs, and six months for
other overseas new drugs.
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