Article ID: CBB983059184

Biotech in Hong Kong: How Biologist-Entrepreneurs Pursued “Hong Kong's Bioscience Dream” (2016)

unapi

This article aims to put Hong Kong on the map of East Asia's biotech studies by identifying the major themes of biotech innovation specific to the city-state's colonial past and postcolonial present and future. I provide evidence of a concerted effort led by biologist-entrepreneurs to promote the biotech industry in postcolonial Hong Kong. Through assessing scientific literature, media representations, business strategies, and programmatic visions of key scientist-entrepreneurs in Hong Kong's biotech enterprise, I highlight how factors such as local history and geopolitical considerations shape the emerging “Hong Kong's bioscience dream.” Using the recent discovery of a new recombinant anticancer drug, pegylated human recombinant arginase (BCT-100), as a case in point, I explore how biotech research and applications are marketed and interpreted in relation to Hong Kong's unique historical, political, and cultural context, thus making it distinct from other Asian Tigers. My analysis of the featured recombinant drug reveals a set of uniquely Hong Kong–centered cultural meanings attributed to biopharmaceutical research and benefits. This case reflects how genetic engineering and biotech research are configured and imagined within the context of the postcolonial Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

...More
Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB983059184/

Similar Citations

Article Christine Y. L. Luk; (2016)
Biotech in Hong Kong: How Biologist-Entrepreneurs Pursued “Hong Kong's Bioscience Dream” (/isis/citation/CBB136935289/)

Article Robert Peckham; (2020)
The Crisis of Crisis: Rethinking Epidemics from Hong Kong (/isis/citation/CBB572762308/)

Chapter Kahn, Jonathan; (2011)
Inventing Race as a Genetic Commodity in Biotechnology Patents (/isis/citation/CBB001221562/)

Book Rasmussen, Nicolas; (2014)
Gene Jockeys: Life Science and the Rise of Biotech Enterprise (/isis/citation/CBB001552207/)

Article Bátiz-Lazo, Bernardo; Smith, Andrew; (2016)
The Industrial Organization of Hong Kong's Progression Toward a Cashless Economy (1960s-2000s) (/isis/citation/CBB744597496/)

Article Liu, Jennifer A.; (2017)
Postcolonial Biotech: Taiwanese Conundrums and Subimperial Desires (/isis/citation/CBB193162849/)

Book Moira M. W. Chan-Yeung; (2020)
A Medical History of Hong Kong: 1942–2015 (/isis/citation/CBB638996040/)

Book Hughes, Sally Smith; (2011)
Genentech: The Beginnings of Biotech (/isis/citation/CBB001221219/)

Article Waldby, Catherine; (2009)
Singapore Biopolis: Bare Life in the City-State (/isis/citation/CBB000932553/)

Article Alejandro Barragán-Ocaña; Rubén Oliver-Espinoza; María del Pilar Longar-Blanco; Hortensia Gómez-Viquez; (2022)
Technological development and patent analysis: The case of biopharmacy in the world and in Latin America (/isis/citation/CBB871494105/)

Book Frédéric Keck; (2020)
Avian Reservoirs: Virus Hunters and Birdwatchers in Chinese Sentinel Posts (/isis/citation/CBB474416367/)

Book R. B. E. Price; (2021)
Nietzsche, Heidegger and Colonialism: Occupying South East Asia (/isis/citation/CBB524170395/)

Article Baldini, Nicola; Fini, Riccardo; Grimaldi, Rosa; Sobrero, Maurizio; (2014)
Organisational Change and the Institutionalisation of University Patenting Activity in Italy (/isis/citation/CBB001420874/)

Book Scranton, Philip; Schrepfer, Susan R.; (2004)
Industrializing organisms: Introducing evolutionary history (/isis/citation/CBB001180630/)

Book Silvia M. Lindtner; (2020)
Prototype Nation: China and the Contested Promise of Innovation (/isis/citation/CBB931166794/)

Article Bivins, Roberta; (2013)
Coming “Home” to (post)Colonial Medicine: Treating Tropical Bodies in Post-War Britain (/isis/citation/CBB001213405/)

Authors & Contributors
Chan-Yeung, Moira M. W.
Liu, Jennifer A.
Hortensia Gómez-Viquez
Smith, Andrew
María del Pilar Longar-Blanco
Price, R. B. E.
Concepts
Biotechnology
Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship
Pharmaceutical industry
Postcolonialism
Colonialism
Biotechnology industry
Time Periods
21st century
20th century, late
20th century
19th century
Places
Hong Kong
United States
Singapore
China
South Korea
Latin America
Institutions
HSBC Bank PLC
United States. Patent Office
Comments

Be the first to comment!

{{ comment.created_by.username }} on {{ comment.created_on | date:'medium' }}

Log in or register to comment