Recently, five departments — the Department of Science and Technology, the Development and Reform Commission, the Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Health Commission, and the Market Supervision Administration of Guangdong Province — jointly released the Action Plan for Developing the Biopharmaceutical and Health Strategic Pillar Industry Cluster of Guangdong Province (2021–2025).
Among the contents on first-mover pilot policies, key points include:
(VIII) The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area First-Mover Pilot Policy Exploration Project. For drugs that are urgently needed clinically and have already been marketed in Hong Kong and Macao, and for medical devices that are urgently needed clinically, have been procured and used by public hospitals in Hong Kong and Macao, and have advanced clinical applications, efforts will be made to obtain national approval for their use at designated medical institutions operating in the nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. Efforts will also be made to obtain national approval for designated medical institutions in the nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area to provide cutting-edge medical treatment services that have been approved by competent authorities of developed countries or regions. Hong Kong and Macao medical professionals are encouraged to come to Guangdong for academic exchanges, and exploration will be made to allow eligible Hong Kong, Macao, and foreign medical professionals to practice directly in the nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area. Mutual recognition of the registration and inspection standards of Chinese patent medicines within the Greater Bay Area will be promoted, and an integrated traditional Chinese medicine evaluation mechanism will be built. (Led by the Provincial Health Commission and Drug Administration, with the Provincial Department of Science and Technology, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Bureau responsible according to their respective duties)
The document also proposes:
Support Shenzhen in building itself into a global source of biopharmaceutical innovation and development, and pursue refined and in-depth development in fields such as high-performance medical devices, bioinformatics, and cell and gene therapy.
Organize and implement special programs in precision medicine and stem cells, new drug development, high-end medical devices, and key technologies and equipment for traditional Chinese medicine, so as to upgrade the capabilities of pharmaceutical manufacturing and medical instrument and device manufacturing.
(Note: The nine mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area refer to the nine Pearl River Delta cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, and Zhaoqing in Guangdong Province.)
