Hong Kong and GBA Cities Forge Biomedical Partnership Driving Global Tech Leadership

Hong Kong's healthcare sector has experienced remarkable growth, surging by nearly 30% over the past decade with the total number of related businesses now exceeding 3,000 companies. This rapid expansion is documented in a comprehensive new study by HKTDC Research, which highlights the successful collaboration between Hong Kong and key Guangdong GBA cities in advancing biomedical innovation. The research demonstrates that this collective endeavor is positioned for sustained growth, reflecting primarily in the overall increase in the sector's regional value.

The partnership between Hong Kong and Guangdong has proven mutually beneficial, with Hong Kong developing a substantial pharmaceutical and medical device cluster comprising 3,020 related companies in 2023 compared to 2,340 in 2013. HKTDC Research Director Irina Fan emphasized that technological innovation has been a key driver of Hong Kong's economic growth, allowing effective alignment with national priorities. The Guangdong Government has announced ambitious action plans to grow its biomedical and healthcare industry cluster by approximately 50% by 2027, increasing its value from RMB 664 billion in 2023 to more than a trillion yuan, with Hong Kong's platform playing a crucial role in this development strategy.

Hong Kong's status as a leading international financial center provides global biotech businesses with comprehensive funding opportunities. As of June 2025, the total market capitalization of the Hong Kong-listed healthcare sector reached US$441 billion, accounting for approximately 8.1% of the total market cap of Hong Kong-listed companies. This represents a threefold increase from the US$144 billion figure recorded at the end of 2017, prior to the implementation of the HKEX Chapter 18A regime. Since these listing rules came into effect, allowing biotech firms without recorded revenue or profits to list, 73 biotech companies have listed, collectively raising US$16 billion as of mid-2025.

Beyond financial resources, Hong Kong offers technical capabilities that significantly benefit GBA businesses looking to expand throughout mainland China and into overseas markets. The city's advanced clinical trial services, which yield internationally accepted data, make Hong Kong an ideal launchpad for regional healthcare ventures seeking global expansion. Clinical data derived through Hong Kong-based trials has gained approval from world-leading regulatory bodies including the US Food and Drug Administration, the European Medicines Agency, and China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Several of Hong Kong's foremost healthcare institutions, including Queen Mary Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital, have secured NMPA accreditation.

The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster received international recognition when the World Intellectual Property Organization designated it as the world's leading innovation hub in its 2025 Global Innovation Index, partly due to biotechnology's leading role within this cutting-edge cluster. Hong Kong's biotech and health start-up sectors have demonstrated extraordinary growth, more than quadrupling from 110 to 510 companies between 2018 and 2024. The sectors' share of the city's total start-up ecosystem increased from 4% to 11%, encompassing pioneering businesses in drug development, gene editing technology, medical device innovation, and precision medical solutions.

HKTDC Research Senior Economist Cherry Yeung outlined how future intra-regional cooperation could benefit all parties, noting that Hong Kong is already seamlessly connected with many pharmaceutical manufacturers and markets in Mainland China through its strengths in R&D and international trade. GBA cities provide substantial production and resource support, creating synergistic relationships across the board. With Guangdong committed to further expanding its biomedical sector, this collaboration is expected to foster a new generation of cross-industry partnerships that will strengthen the region's position as a global biomedical innovation leader.