Bringing new drugs to the Chinese marketplace: The corporatization of academic research and the commodification of drug discovery in Hong Kong

Abstract

The Chinese pharmaceutical business is a lucrative market force for not only global pharmaceutical companies but also academic biologists and clinical-trial researchers who serve as mediators between producers and consumers of new drugs. In Hong Kong, the changing governance of public universities towards privatization and corporatization has prompted academic researchers to generate income through engaging in entrepreneurial activities. The universities’ quest for becoming entrepreneurial create a strong push for academic life scientists to create linkage with drug manufacturers and consumer markets. Academic biologists have become a crucial actor in drug discovery and development, not only as researchers for conducting laboratory research and clinical trials, but also as salesmen and developers through participating in a number of non-research activities that help pharmaceutical companies to identify and create new markets. This paper will examine the cultural politics of drug discovery in contemporary Hong Kong. The postcolonial biotech enterprise is shaped by a vigorous participation of business-savvy biomedical researchers who are keen on identifying new drugs for prevalent diseases such as cancers. Recognizing Hong Kong’s aging population and the increasing cachet of medical culture, a handful of university life scientists strategically aligned their work with pharmaceutical companies, drug stores, and patients to bring new drugs to market. Using the production and promotion of the first homegrown anti-cancer drug, BCT-100, as a case in point, this study will illustrate how drug discovery have come to resemble other commodities in the booming Chinese drug marketplace.