Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: biotech firm eyes cervical cancer test breakthrough

Ricky Chiu Yin-to, a Hong Kong biotech entrepreneur, is striving to make cervical cancer screening more accessible through a urine-based HPV test. His company, Phase Scientific, gained prominence during the Covid-19 pandemic with its rapid antigen test, Indicaid, which received US emergency-use authorization and was used extensively in Hong Kong and other countries.

Prior to the pandemic, the firm employed 20 to 30 people, but this numbers skyrocketed to approximately 400 and monthly production rose to 30 million rapid tests. Chiu believes the pandemic provided the necessary capital, experience, and team to shift focus to cancer research. The company's innovative technology, developed by Chiu himself, concentrates existing biological material in urine samples before testing, enhancing the chances of detecting minute particles.

This approach is being tested in clinical studies in mainland China and Hong Kong, with the aim of establishing large-scale evidence supporting its efficacy. Phase Scientific also plans to explore the potential of the same technology in detecting early-stage cancers like liver and lung cancer. Chiu's vision is for biotechnology to play a significant role in Hong Kong's economic transition, and he hopes Phase Scientific can serve as a testament to its potential success.