The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has formed a strategic partnership with state-owned Shanghai Industrial Investment Holdings (SIIC) to launch a new HK$600 million ($77.2 million) fund targeting Hong Kong's biotechnology and life science sector.
The Hong Kong Biotechnology Fund (HKBF) will serve as the inaugural venture investment fund under HKUST's Redbird Innovation Fund (RIF), a HK$500 million initiative established in April 2024. The fund aims to accelerate the commercialization of biomedical breakthroughs and support healthcare technology startups emerging from the university and broader industry.
Strategic Investment Focus
With HKUST and SIIC as anchor investors, the HKBF will allocate 50% of its resources to HKUST-associated ventures. This includes startups founded by university members, ventures utilizing HKUST technologies, or projects incubated within the university's facilities.
SIIC Capital, the wholly-owned fund management and investment platform of SIIC, will manage the fund. The firm has already identified promising opportunities across various biomedical sectors, including:
- Neurodegeneration therapies
- Ophthalmic drug delivery systems
- Gene therapy technologies
Dr. May Liang, Hong Kong Biotechnology Fund president, emphasized the strategic approach: "With the launch of the HKBF, SIIC Capital will leverage its industrial ecosystem capabilities and Shanghai-Hong Kong synergies to target early-stage biotech R&D translation."
Addressing Healthcare Challenges
Professor Tam Kar-Yan, HKUST's acting president, highlighted the fund's broader impact: "This fund addresses the pressing challenge of an aging population by accelerating the commercialization of biomedical breakthroughs, from AI-driven diagnostics to sustainable therapies. Together with partners like SIIC and Shanghai Healthcare Capital (SHC), we are building an ecosystem where research transcends laboratories to heal communities and transform lives."
The initiative comes as Hong Kong public universities increasingly establish private market funds to support startups founded by their academic communities. This shift indicates movement toward the university endowment model practiced by major institutions across the US and China, while prioritizing growth in the local ecosystem, particularly in deep tech sectors.
Government Support and Ecosystem Development
The HKBF aligns with the Hong Kong SAR government's vision to establish the city as an international health and medical innovation hub. Government initiatives such as the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+) and Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities (TSSSU) complement these private efforts.
These programs aim to address challenges identified in a 2022 government report, including university policies that have historically failed to encourage commercialization of research, R&D talent shortages, and limited university-industry collaboration.
SIIC Capital is currently seeking additional limited partners to expand the fund's size as it progresses, creating further opportunities for investment in Hong Kong's growing biotechnology sector.
