From September 9 to 12, 2026, the 5th Hong Kong International Biotechnology Conference and Exhibition (BIOHK 2026) was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. This year’s theme is Kaleidoscope, symbolizing a panoramic view of the industry from diverse perspectives — which mirrors the current landscape of China’s innovative drug sector: policy frameworks, capital logic and technological paradigms are all undergoing a shift. What the industry needs now is no longer a simplistic narrative, but judgment capable of weathering market cycles. Dr. Jinqiao Zhu, Founder & Chairman of Evident Partners, was invited to the summit to deliver a keynote speech and join a panel discussion.

01 

From “Financing Gateway” to “Pricing Hub”: Hong Kong’s Structural Evolution

As the world’s third-largest financial centre, Hong Kong maintained robust IPO momentum in the first half of 2026, welcoming 87 new listed companies. It ranked second globally both by the number of IPOs and total capital raised. More notable than the figures is the functional shift behind them: Hong Kong is evolving from a transit point that “helps enterprises raise capital” into a hub that “prices global biotech assets”.

This transformation was fully showcased at BIOHK 2026. The summit brought together regulators, industry practitioners and investors worldwide, featuring five major tracks: Regulatory Science & International Market Access, Clinical Translation & Industrial Ecosystem, Frontier Technology & Original Innovation, Financial Capital & Cross-border Transactions, and Future Healthcare & Digital Intelligence in Health, covering 20 thematic breakout sessions.

The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region John Lee Ka-chiu sent a congratulatory message, themed Gathering Global Biotech Wisdom for Excellence and Future Prosperity in Life Sciences, calling on the conference to build global industry consensus. Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, also extended his greetings, affirming Hong Kong’s value as a “super-connector” and urging deeper international collaboration to accelerate the commercialization of innovations.

Amid profound restructuring of the global biotech value chain, Dr. Zhu exchanged views with global industrial and capital leaders on topics including global pricing power for China’s innovative medicines and the ultimate investment logic for AI-enabled biotech.

02 

Dual-engine Drive, End-state Pricing: An Investment Philosophy for Paradigm Shifts

In his speech titled Dual-engine Drive: How Policy Framework and AI Technology Jointly Reshape Biotech Investment Paradigms, Dr. Zhu stated that biotech investment is at a paradigm inflection point. The emergence of 152 global life sciences unicorns marks “AI + biology” as the most definitive cross-sector track in capital markets. Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s regulatory evolution from Chapter 18A to Chapter 18C and the CMPR regime over eight years has transformed it from a financing gateway into a core hub for pricing and monetizing global biotech assets.

Against this backdrop, Dr. Zhu put forward the investment philosophy of end-state pricing: instead of valuing biotech companies using traditional financial models, investors should anchor on the probability of success of the technical route, and deploy capital ahead of key milestones in scientific validation, regulatory clearance and commercial translation.

At the same time, AI is evolving from a “tool” into a “new engine”, running through the whole value chain from target discovery to health management and steering biomanufacturing from empirical to intelligent. Policy pathways, AI technologies and Hong Kong’s hub function converge and reinforce one another, defining the value release path over the next decade for Chinese innovative drug developers to grow from local champions into global players.

03 

Navigating Cycles: What Constitutes True Certainty

During the panel discussion Navigating Cycles, Reshaping Value — A New Collaborative Paradigm for Innovative Pharmaceuticals and Capital Markets, Dr. Jinqiao Zhu and global industry leaders explored a practical question. Over the past five years, China’s innovative drug investment has gone through a boom-and-bust cycle. Numerous homogeneous pipelines were eliminated, many institutions adjusted their stances, and some biotech firms were acquired or wound down. Meanwhile, a cohort of assets and enterprises with genuine international competitiveness have stood out. Have investors and participants in primary and secondary markets become “smarter” when engaging in biotech financing and investment?

Dr. Zhu remarked that investors are indeed more sophisticated, though “more professional” is a better description. Leading investment firms now mostly have investment research teams with clinical and translational medicine backgrounds, capable of truly interpreting data and assessing differentiation, rather than merely chasing sector hype or benchmarking overseas deal values.

04 

Greater Bay Area Vision, Global Coordinates: Bridged by Capital, Sailed by Expertise

In September 2026, along Victoria Harbour, global biotech stakeholders gathered once again. BIOHK 2026 serves both as a springboard for Chinese enterprises to access global resources and an optimal gateway for international firms to tap China’s vast market. As a professional investment institution rooted in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Evident Partners always views opportunities from a Greater Bay Area perspective with a global outlook.

The next wave of transformation in biotechnology has arrived, presenting an industry opportunity not to be missed. Evident Partners will continue to build bridges with capital and navigate by professional expertise, acting as a long-termist between the Greater Bay Area and the globe — capable of early valuation and accompanying portfolio companies through to final value realization.

Disclaimer

The views expressed herein represent the Company’s opinions based on publicly available information and materials provided by portfolio companies, and do not constitute investment advice, medical advice or guarantee of performance for any specific enterprise. Investment carries risks; readers should make independent judgments based on public information. Unauthorized reproduction or commercial use is prohibited.