Hong Kong has set out an ambitious vision: to position itself as an international health and medical innovation hub, anchored in strong primary healthcare, scientific excellence and deeper integration within the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Yet achieving that vision requires more than infrastructure or investment. It requires ecosystem-wide collaboration.
In October 2025, Roche became the strategic enterprise with the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) to accelerate healthcare innovation and strengthen primary care transformation. As the first multinational in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) company designated as an HKSAR Government OASES Strategic Enterprise, Roche reinforces its long-term commitment to advancing prevention-led healthcare in Hong Kong.
Current Situation in Hong Kong: Diagnostics at the Centre of Healthcare Transformation
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) caused 43 million deaths globally in 2021, accounting for 75% of non-pandemic-related deaths1. In Asia Pacific, ageing populations and rising chronic disease burdens are accelerating demand for care.
Hong Kong faces similar pressures. Public healthcare expenditure is rising at 5.6% annually, outpacing GDP growth at 2.0%2. A treatment-oriented system, heavily reliant on public hospital services, is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. The Government’s Primary Healthcare Blueprint recognises that expanding hospital capacity alone is unsustainable without systemic reform.
The objective is clear: move care upstream
Prevention is therefore not just a health priority, but a fiscal imperative. Through its collaboration with OASES, Roche is aligning its integrated “OneRoche” strategy spanning Diagnostics and Pharmaceuticals with Hong Kong’s reform agenda to enable earlier detection, strengthen primary care and support a more sustainable healthcare system.
The Strategy: A full-cycle healthcare approach
Embedding diagnostics closer to patients allows primary care providers to shift from episodic treatment to continuous, data-informed management. Rather than focusing on a single therapeutic area, Roche’s collaboration with government and stakeholders spans the full continuum of care from community screening to hospital-based precision medicine.
Roche Diagnostics Hong Kong is advancing:
- Strengthening Diabetes and Chronic Disease Management – Advancing Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) to promote early intervention and better management of chronic diseases and introducing the first Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) technology enhanced with AI algorithms for improved diabetes management.
- Cancer and Precision Diagnostics – Expanding localised Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) to accelerate cancer diagnosis and treatment and AI-enabled digital pathology technology to enhance smart hospital facilities.
The Impacts: Building infrastructure for a smart, connected ecosystem
Roche is committed to supporting Hong Kong’s development as a leading Health and Medical Innovation Hub through its comprehensive offerings. Taking Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) as an example:
- Major public hospitals are participating in Roche-supported precision oncology initiatives
- A lung cancer programme has already benefited local patients and generated insightful research publications
- These efforts have also informed regional consensus statements on precision oncology
A collaboration embedded in Hong Kong’s strategic vision
The OASES initiative, launched in the 2022 Policy Address, seeks to attract high-potential enterprises in life and health technology. To date, more than 100 strategic partners have joined, projected to bring over HKD 60 billion in investment and create more than 22,000 jobs3.
Roche’s roadmap with OASES progressed through structured phases, from strategic alignment discussions in late 2024, to proposal development and signing in October 2025.
The signing ceremony, attended by Financial Secretary Mr. Paul Chan and OASES Director-General Mr. Peter Yan, underscored the collaboration’s regional significance.
As Mr. Ronald Lo, General Manager of Roche Diagnostics (Hong Kong) Limited, emphasised:
“Roche supports the Hong Kong Government’s Primary Healthcare policy by advancing cutting‑edge diagnostics in chronic disease management. Through OASES, we aim to bring advanced diagnostic solutions to more patients, foster meaningful collaborations to build a sustainable healthcare system that improves lives.”
A Model for Health Innovation in Asia Pacific
The Roche–OASES collaboration illustrates what is possible when government strategy, scientific research, digital health and industry expertise are aligned around shared goals.
The next step is to deepen collaboration, scale proven models and ensure that innovation remains anchored in patient benefit. It is because healthcare leadership is measured not only by discovery, but by how effectively discovery reaches the people who need it most.
